Egyptian military shoots down 'Hamas drone' from Gaza

Egypt's army shot down a Palestinian drone it alleges entered the airspace of North Sinai from Gaza.

2 min read

25 September, 2019

The drone allegedly belonged to Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades [Getty]

The Egyptian army claimed on Wednesday it shot down a drone belonging to Hamas which travelled into Egyptian airspace over the city of Rafah.

Rafah lies on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt’s North Sinai province, in which the military are undertaking a large-scale campaign against Islamic State-affiliated insurgents.

Local tribal sources told The New Arab’s Arabic-language service that the Egyptian military opened fire on a drone belonging to the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza.

The drone was locally made and was circling the area around the Yebna refugee camp on the Palestinian side of Rafah, the sources added.

The sound of gunfire continued for more than 10 minutes as the army attempted to shoot down the drone using several different types of machinery.

Hamas is yet to comment on the incident.

Earlier this month, Hamas shot down an Israeli drone over Rafah, claiming it was "on a special mission in the Gaza Strip, and had onboard infrared cameras and a device equipped to carry out its mission".

The Israeli military later confirmed the drone had been downed in Gaza.

On top of waging a land, air and sea blockade of the Palestinian enclave, Israel uses drones on an everyday basis to carry out surveillance and attacks on Gazans.

Israel has also carried out drone strikes on militants in North Sinai, indicating there is comprehensive military cooperation between Cairo and Tel Aviv.

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