Israel intercepts weapons-laden drone from Egypt: What we know

The Israeli military said Tuesday it had foiled an attempt Monday night to smuggle 10 assault rifles into Israel from Egypt using a drone.

A statement issued by the Israeli military said that the drone was identified crossing the Egyptian border into Israel and intercepted in the air by troops of the Border Defense Corps’ Caracal Battalion, part of the southern Israel command. The troops recovered the debris of the downed drone, which was found to have carried 10 M16 rifles and ammunition.

Israel took control of the Rafah crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip last May. According to Israeli media, since then, several attempts have been made to smuggle weapons and drugs as well as exotic animals in the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border area, apparently by criminal groups based in the Sinai Peninsula.

Weapons and drugs have also been smuggled into Gaza from Egypt. On March 28, Israeli security forces intercepted a drone from Sinai carrying nine rifles.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military intercepted several drones that crossed the border from Egypt into Israeli territory. In 2022, Israel downed an Egyptian surveillance drone, but an investigation revealed it had entered Israeli airspace by mistake. Other drones that crossed the Israel-Egypt border were launched from Yemen, flying through Egyptian airspace into Israeli territory. Last December near the border with Egypt, the Israeli military downed a drone launched from Yemen headed for the southern Israeli city of Eilat.

Over the past decade, the Egyptian military has been grappling with violence and instability caused by militant and criminal groups in the Sinai Peninsula.

Last February, Egypt significantly increased its military presence in Sinai, including by deploying hundreds of tanks, though the military said the buildup was largely aimed at countering spillover threats from the Gaza war.

Human Rights Watch has accused the Egyptian government of war crimes for razing homes in North Sinai governorate to create a buffer zone as it battled insurgents from 2013 to 2020.