While Hamas is trying to find a way to recover after the war, over the past month IDF soldiers identified at least three attempts to smuggle weapons into Gaza using drones, Channel 12 reported.
Israeli forces are preparing a multidimensional effort to address the threat: direct fire at the drones, establishment of dedicated units, and increased use of technologicalcountermeasures and intelligence for preventative operations.
The smuggling phenomenon from Sinai into Israel is not new, and last week the Defense Minister ordered the Israel-Egypt border to be declared a closed military area. The overarching concern is that Hamas knows the smuggling routes and could try to use them to transfer weapons not only to Gaza but also to terrorist organizations in Judea and Samaria.
A senior IDF official noted that since the beginning of the year about 2,000 drones crossed from Egypt into Israeli territory, and only about 10% of them were intercepted.
The IDF said, "We are attentive to the development of the smuggling phenomenon using drones and are acting against it in cooperation with the police, with close monitoring using various countermeasures, including surveillance, technological tools, and intelligence sources. The IDF continues to concentrate effort to improve technological countereasures on the borders, and is conducting in-depth staff work on the matter. If this issue is not resolved, it must be said, this is one of the most troubling phenomena, especially on the Israel-Egypt border."
Last week the Defense Minister ordered the section of the border to be defined as a closed military area - a step that will prevent civilians from approaching the line and will lead to changes in the rules of engagement. "We declare war against anyone who penetrates into the forbidden area and will fire at them," Katz said.
At the same time, an agreement was reached with the ISA director on involving the agency in defining the threat of weapons smuggling by drones as a "terror threat", in order to expand the authorities for handling it beyond the usual criminal definition.