The Israel Defense Forces’ Paran Brigade, which is responsible for securing Israel’s border with Egypt, intercepted a drone smuggling weapons and ammunition across the western frontier, the military said on Monday.
“The forces identified a drone that crossed from the west into Israeli territory in an attempt to smuggle weapons and located the drone carrying two firearms and ammunition,” according to the IDF.
The arms were seized for “further handling” by Israeli security agencies.
Figures published by Israel’s Ynet outlet late last month indicate that hundreds of unnamed aerial vehicles have crossed into Israel from Egypt in recent months, highlighting growing concerns over border security.
Between July 16 and Aug. 25, the Paran Brigade recorded 384 incidents of drones breaching the border. During the same period, there were 248 sightings of smugglers on the Egyptian side and 254 on the Israeli side.
An IDF source told the outlet that while most of the smuggling attempts involved goods such as cigarettes and drugs, at least dozens of weapons are being brought in across the border each month using drones.
