Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday he was “declaring war” on weapon smuggling via drones over the Egyptian border, instructing the military to declare a closed military zone in the area and the Shin Bet to define such attempts as terrorism, APA reports, citing The Times of Israel.
In the past year, there have been frequent attempts to bring weapons and drugs over the Egyptian border using drones, the latest on Tuesday.
Katz on Wednesday night held an “emergency meeting” on the drone threat with IDF, police, Shin Bet, and Defense Ministry officials, his office said.
During the meeting, Katz “instructed the IDF to turn the area adjacent to the border into a closed military zone and to adjust the rules of engagement in order to strike any unauthorized party that penetrates into the prohibited area, in order to hit the operators and smugglers of the drones,” according to his office.
As of Thursday morning, the IDF has yet to announce any new closed military zones along Israel’s 200-kilometer-long border with Egypt, or any changes to its rules of engagement in the area.
