According to a report released by Army Radio on Wednesday morning, 28 drones have successfully crossed into the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the year, with defense officials fearing they will be used by Hamas for terror attacks. The report cites IDF data indicating 117 smuggling attempts via drone over six months — 89 of which were intercepted. Security sources assess most of the 28 drones reached Hamas, and express concern over Hezbollah's effective use of explosive drones in Lebanon as a model.
A report by Army Radio correspondents Moriah Asraf and Doron Kadosh, published Wednesday morning, reveals that 28 drones have successfully crossed into the Gaza Strip from the start of 2026 — the majority believed to have reached Hamas. The report cites IDF data showing a total of 117 drone smuggling attempts over six months, of which 89 were intercepted. The remaining 28 crossed undetected or evaded interdiction.
Defense officials express concern that the drones — and any cargo they carried — constitute a valuable asset for Hamas. The report notes that Hamas is learning from Hezbollah's effective use of explosive drones in Lebanon, which have killed 16 IDF soldiers in recent months. While the IDF states that all intercepted drones carried only narcotics, the security establishment is alarmed by the scale of the pipeline and the inability to ascertain what crossed without detection.
As The Zioneer has previously reported (June 12, June 20), drone smuggling from Israel and Egypt into Gaza has been a persistent vulnerability, with Bedouin smuggling networks facilitating hundreds of drones over the past 18 months. The current figures suggest the phenomenon has not been curbed. The IDF acknowledges it does not identify all drones in real time, meaning the actual number of successful crossings may be higher than the 28 confirmed.
3 developments
- DevelopingReport: 170 drones smuggled from Israel into Gaza by Bedouin gangs over 18 months
- DevelopingReport exposes drug and weapons smuggling drone landings at clan compound in northern Gaza
- DevelopingReport: 10 drone interception systems were offline along Gaza border on Oct 7
- DevelopingLebanese media report Israeli drones over Beirut amid continuing ceasefire violations
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
- Internal intake