The Hamas terrorist group on Tuesday claimed to have captured an Israeli drone that fell in the Gaza Strip the previous day.
Palestinian media reported on Monday that an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft had crashed in the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City. On Tuesday, Hamas published a video purportedly showing the captured drone, which it said was an “Orbiter 1K” model.
While the Israel Defense Forces denied it owned the drone, a senior military officer said that it belonged to the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), according to a Walla! News report. The Shin Bet declined to comment on the incident.
It was not clear whether any sensitive information was leaked or what the drone’s purpose was.
Security guards at a crossing into the Gaza Strip last week thwarted an attempt to smuggle reconnaissance drones into the Hamas-controlled territory.
The 10 drones were in a black bag hidden in a minibus, which was stopped by guards at the Erez Crossing. The bag was flagged by a specially trained canine, according to the ministry.
A military drone fell in Jenin in Samaria last month.
A local wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group claimed to have shot down the UAV, publishing a video that they said showed the downed drone, of the quadcopter type.
In April, an Israeli fighter jet intercepted an unidentified aircraft over Gaza.
The object was identified upon takeoff and followed by control units on the ground until it was shot out of the sky.
