Destruction of the UAV
Destruction of the UAVCourtesy: IDF Spokesperson

“Ear-witnesses” said that after they left synagogue services on the Sabbath around 10 a.m., they heard a loud boom, not knowing an enemy drone had been downed. 

Israel's Air Force took down the drone in an isolated area in the Southern Hevron Hills, located between Hevron-Kiryat Arba and Be’er Sheva. Arutz Sheva has pinpointed the exact location, based on reports from residents in Jewish communities in the area.

“I left Sabbath ‘Musaf prayers” [the ‘additional’ prayers recited on the Sabbath and holidays] and heard a loud boom, said “E,” who lives in a community located less than five miles from the site where the drone was downed.”

Another resident, who is a rabbi, told Arutz Sheva he also heard the blast, which he thought was a sonic boom.

Moments later, it was clear that something more dramatic had taken place. Helicopters hovered over the area and highways, used mostly by local Arabs and Bedouin, were barricaded by soldiers, while other troops combed the forest for traces of the drone.

IAF F-16 jets downed the enemy UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) at the Judea and Samaria security fence between the headquarters of the Southern Hevron Regional Council and the Yatir Forest, the largest planted forest in Israel.

The Council’s offices were closed for the Sabbath, and virtually no one lives in the immediate area in the direction of the forest. However, less than one mile to the east of the Regional Council Center and north of the fence, approximately a dozen families live in the small Jewish community of Asahael. Most of the residents were away for the Sabbath, which falls within the seven-day holiday of Sukkot.