By Gili Cohen

The Israeli Air Force shot down an unidentified aerial vehicle that penetrated Israel’s airspace on Saturday. IDF forces shot down the drone over the Negev,  south of Mount Hebron.

The IDF said Saturday that the drone arrived in Israel from the west after flying over the Mediterranean and the Gaza Strip. It said the incident is under investigation.

Supported by Iran, Hezbollah in recent years made progress in the field of unmanned drones. The Israel Defense Forces considers such incidents as aerial-terror.

This is the fourth time in the past decade such incident occurs. In the past, small drones penetrated Israel’s airspace from the north. Hamas and Islamic Jihad reportedly showed interest in unmanned aerial vehicles; but it was never confirmed by Israel’s defense industry. However, sources within the security establishment had confirmed in the past that Hezbollah is involved, both financially and logistically, in supporting terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF will examine the drone’s flight course in attempt to establish its origin. Another asked is what the drone’s objective was: reconnaissance and intelligence gathering (that also might be used for propaganda) or maybe to crash in Israeli towns or IDF compounds.   Read the full story on Haaretz.com ; use promo code Forward for 25% off your digital subscription.

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