March 25, 2022
Israel has accused Iran of using long-range drones to fly small arms to Palestinian militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in an evolution of Tehran’s use of unmanned vehicles against the Jewish state.
Israeli military officials said they used F-35 fighter jets to shoot down two drones launched from Iran in March last year, marking the first time advanced aircraft were used to shoot down unmanned vehicles. On March 7, nearly a year after the incident, the Israeli military released video of the F-35s showing the downing of the drones.
While Israel has accused Iran of using neighboring Syria, Iraq and Lebanon as launching pads for attacks on Israel, this is the first time the military has accused Tehran of sending drones directly from Iran to Israel.
An Israeli military official said Iran appeared to be carrying out test flights to see if it could successfully use drones to transport arms and ammunition to Palestinian militants. “We see this as a kind of test,” the official said.
Israeli officials said they waited nearly a year to release information about the incidents due to regional sensitivities with friendly neighbors.
Last year, the two drones attempted to fly into Israel from the east and south, the official said, but were shot down before entering the country. Israeli officials declined to say where the drones were shot down by Israeli pilots, but said they were targeted in coordination with neighboring countries. Jordan lies east of the West Bank and Egypt is south of the Gaza Strip.
The drones are capable of flying for 1,200 miles and over 20 hours, the Israeli military said.
Israeli officials said they recovered small arms and ammunition from the downed drones. They said they were able to trace parts of the drones directly to Iran’s military industry.
Israeli officials said they shot down another Iranian drone launched from Iraq last May as the Israeli military carried out a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip. The drone flew over Jordan and Syria before being shot down in northern Israel, the Israeli military said.
Washington and Riyadh have accused Iran of using drones in a complex attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry in 2019. In February, the Israeli military said it shot down a drone that was flying over the northern border of the country with Lebanon. Hezbollah also said one of its drones flew 40 miles into Israel last month and returned safely to Lebanon after carrying out a surveillance mission.