Nearly 900 drone smuggling attempts from Egypt into Israel were recorded in the past three months, according to testimony before the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Wednesday.
The number marks a sharp rise from 464 attempts in the same period in 2024. Officials noted that the number of incursions declined after the IDF deployed new counter‑drone systems last month. The hearing was convened at the request of Religious Zionist Party MK Zvi Succot, with part of it held behind closed doors.
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Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee discusses surge in drone smuggling operation along Egyptian border
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Data from the Ramat Negev Regional Council, based on reports from the 80th Division of IDF Southern Command, show the drone smuggling trend began in 2024: 104 drone breaches in the first half of that year, rising to 464 in the latter half and 627 in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
Acting Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chair MK Shalom Danino led a heated discussion on a dramatic rise in drone smuggling. In opening remarks, MK Succot warned: “Over the past two years, there has been an unrelenting flood from the Egyptian border. It’s possible that these drones carry heavy weapons—and this happens with impunity. Security forces barely manage to catch a few. This is not merely illegal smuggling; when weapons enter sovereign territory, it becomes an existential threat.”
At the hearing, Anan Seaon, the security coordinator of the border community of Kadesh Barnea, testified that smuggling activity has surged from five incidents a month last year to 90 within two months, and 550 drone incursions over three days during the Jewish New Year. “They have radios, thermal gear—everything. This is a criminal enterprise moving huge sums of money,” he said. “You don’t smuggle a machine gun to steal cigarettes. You do it to take over a town. Four of them and you’ve conquered Moshav Nevatim. We must classify this as terrorism.”
Seaon described an ongoing atmosphere of fear: “I sit on my porch and drones pass overhead. One day, they’ll drop a bomb on a kindergarten.” He added that the threat is also drawing Bedouin youth into smuggling networks, warning, “They’re making a fortune. There must be a centralized authority to handle this.”
Ramat Negev Regional Council head Eran Doron said the drones carry dozens of kilos of weapons—including LAWs and heavy machine guns—into Bedouin communities near Be’er Sheva. “They fly over our heads every night and weapons are tested in nearby fields,” he said. “The problem isn’t the border—it’s what happens inside Israel.”
Doron warned that had such weapons been used during past riots, like May 2021's Operation Guardian of the Walls, terrorists could have seized Israeli bases. “Drones are mosquitoes. The real issue is the swamp—what’s happening inside the country,” he said. “Settlement is the most important solution. Where is the government?”
Bezalel Ganusar from Hashomer Hachadash, a volunteer-based organization, said the drone threat extends to other regions, including the Arava. “Where’s the national plan? Who’s accountable?” he asked. “This is a matter for the IDF, police, Border Police and Shin Bet. There’s no such thing as ‘criminal’ when it comes to weapons—we must fix that.”
Eyal, a local whose daughter was previously assaulted by a Bedouin youth, said his employee filmed five back-and-forth drone runs within one hour this week. “Same drone, same crew. No one’s doing anything,” he said.
A farmer from Bnei Netzarim in the Eshkol Regional Council added, “A continuous stretch of settlement between Eshkol and Ramat Negev, through agricultural farms, could solve this. When Highway 10 was open to hikers, there were no smuggling attempts.”