Israel says attack by two Gaza drones 'thwarted'

The Israeli army said Monday it had "thwarted" an attack from Gaza by two drones that was claimed by Hamas.

The two unidentified aerial vehicles (UAVs) were "identified crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory" at Nir Oz and Ein HaBesor near the border, the army said.

"Both UAVs were thwarted," a statement added, without giving details.


Israeli media said a helicopter shot down one drone and the other was hit by a ground-fired missile.

Hamas said on its social media that "Israeli military posts" had been the target of the attack.

Gaza's Islamist rulers, who have sought their own drone weaponry for nearly two decades, released videos of drones being launched during the October 7 cross-border raids, which left 1,400 dead, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel responded to the Hamas attack with an aerial bombardment campaign that has so far killed over 5,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry.

The Israeli military has, however, never confirmed Hamas use of the weapons as part of the worst attacks suffered by the country.

Israel uses its own sophisticated drones to monitor Gaza and attack Hamas targets in the Palestinian territory.

Hamas had named its drones after Mohammad Zouari, a Tunisian engineer who developed its UAV technology.

Zouari was gunned down in his Tunisian hometown in December 2016 in an act that Hamas blamed on Israel.