Israel reportedly shot down a Hamas drone flying near the southern city of Ashdod on Monday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Twitter that the drone, which allegedly had been sent from Gaza, was shot down with a Patriot missile. It is the first time Hamas is reported to have used an unmanned aerial vehicle in the conflict.
An aerial drone from Gaza infiltrated Israel a short time ago. IDF forces shot it down with a Patriot missile above Ashdod.— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 14, 2014
Isarel's military was aware that Hamas had flying robots in their arsenal and they have targeted the organization's drone infrastructure before, an IDF spokesperson told Mashable. The spokesperson, however, declined to comment whether the drone was armed.
Hours after the drone was destroyed, Hamas' Al Qassam Brigades claimed in a Tweet that its engineers have developed "three types of unmanned drones." One for surveillance, one for "dropping," and one for "executing detonating missions."
The group also published pictures and video purportedly showing the drone as well as pictures taken with the drone's camera. The authenticity of these shots could not immediately be verified.
#Breaking: Pictures of homemade unmanned drone "Bird Flocks which hovered over Israeli war ministry. #Gazaunderattack pic.twitter.com/0DllnJZemo— Al Qassam Brigades (@qassamfeed) July 14, 2014
#Breaking: Pictures of homemade unmanned drone "Bird Flocks which hovered over Israeli war ministry. #Gazaunderattack pic.twitter.com/w0v2kxkGx1— Al Qassam Brigades (@qassamfeed) July 14, 2014
The group boasted on Twitter that the drones carried out "three missions over Israeli military bases" and a "specific mission over Israeli war ministry," but it's unclear if the group's claims are true or more of a show of force than anything else.
The drone looks to be an Ababil-1, which is manufactured in Iran, according to aviation expert and blogger David Cenciotti.
"I'm not surprised [Hamas] has some of these," he told Mashable, adding that even Hezbollah has been reported to have some of these in the past few years.
Regarding the drone's capabilities, Cenciotti doubts that it can actually carry out offensive operations, given that this model is generally used for surveillance, "but we can't exclude it," he said.
Additional reporting by Associated Press