An Israel Defense Forces UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) crashed in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday.
The aircraft crashed near the town of Beit Hanoun following a technical malfunction. The circumstances of the incident are still unclear.
| November's Crash |
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| Unmanned drone crashes in Negev / Shmulik Hadad |
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Unmanned aerial vehicle crashes in Negev near populated community, causes scare among residents who hope crash will not hurt military efforts to stop Qassam launches on them |
| Full story |
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Koran verses were sounded on public address systems, declaring that "God is helping the fighters to snipe and better hit their targets."
Several hours later, the Hamas website
released photos showing gunmen standing next to what appeared to be an IDF drone.
Izz al-Din al-Qassam gunman with drone (Photo: Hamas website)
In November, an IDF drone crashed over the skies of the Negev and fell near the community of Nativ Haasara, close to the Gaza border. The drone was flying in the area in support of the operation in Gaza and was used to gather photographic and other intelligence of the battlefield.
IDF sources then estimated that the drone crashed due to a technical failure and was not shot down by Palestinian fire.
This was not the first time an IDF drone crashed during military operations. During the war in Lebanon
a similar drone crashed in Lebanon
and was destroyed purposely by the IDF. Similar instances happened in 2005 in Gaza and the West Bank.
The use of drones has been common in recent years as they are able to provide accurate real-time video pictures at very low cost and with low risk to human life.
Ali Waked contributed to the report
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