The Israel Defense Forces is investigating a new type of threat: a cross-border invasion by thousands of terrorists carried by unmanned aerial vehicles.
During a visit to a military post in the country’s south last month, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir was shown a drone caught crossing the Egyptian border. This drone, with two strong handles at the bottom, is capable of lifting up to 187 pounds, according to Channel 12 News. Footage from Zamir’s visit showed one of the soldiers grasping the UAV’s handles while the aircraft hovered above the ground, after which it lifted the soldier into the air.
Similar videos posted on social media show smugglers training on UAVs with similar capabilities, allegedly in Arab countries.
The IDF is trying to come up with solutions to this threat, the report noted.
Israeli security forces foil only about 30% of smuggling attempts across the Sinai border, of which there are 10 to 15 per day, Channel 12 reported.
In the meantime, the IDF has decided to enhance the forces along the 208-kilometer (130-mile) border with an additional battalion, according to the report.
Meanwhile, a convoy of white pickup trucks was spotted on Wednesday evening on the Egyptian side of the border, across from the Israeli community of Shlomit in the Negev desert, Channel 12 reported.
IDF troops, including tanks and fighter helicopters, rushed to the scene.
The trucks were manned by civilians and the incident was ruled out as a security issue, the military said.
The Eshkol Regional Council updated residents following the incident, saying, “In recent days, several gatherings have been identified near the border fence on the Egyptian side, in the Halutziot area. The council is in ongoing contact with military authorities. This is a peaceful border, and according to them these are not unusual incidents and no security threat is posed to residents,” per Channel 12.
The smuggling from Egypt in recent years is considered to be linked with criminals. However, residents in the Negev are concerned that this phenomenon could be exploited by terrorists.
On Jan. 1, the Israel Police announced that authorities had cracked down on an arms smuggling network in the country’s south.
Four members of the network, from the Azazima Bedouin tribe, were indicted earlier in the day by the Southern District Attorney’s Office at the Beersheva District Court. The four suspects revealed during questioning that they were involved in significant arms-smuggling operations over the Sinai border using drones, police said.
In November, Israel declared the area along its border with Egypt a closed military zone to combat smuggling.
The government order was designed to “turn the border-adjacent area into a closed military zone and change the rules of engagement to strike drone operators and smugglers by targeting any unauthorized element penetrating the off-limits area,” the Ministry of Defense said at the time.
