Israeli Air Force shoots downs suspicious Gazan drone

The incident comes after a tense ceasefire with Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

By World Israel News Staff

On Thursday, Israel’s Air Force downed a Gazan drone flying over the Mediterranean.

“IAF Fighter jets a few minutes ago downed a UAV that was taking off from the Gaza Strip and it was determined it was flying westward in an abnormal fashion, over the Mediterranean,” the IDF said in a statement.

The incident comes after Israel relaxed restrictions on the enclave by reopening up the Erez and Kerem Shalom border crossings and the fishing area off the Gazan coast on Wednesday.

Israel imposed strict restrictions on Gaza after Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) broke a late Monday night ceasefire agreement following a two-day rocket barrage against Israel.

According to the IDF, over 80 rockets were fired by the time the cease-fire was announced. One of them slammed into an empty playground in the southern Israeli town of Sderot.

In retaliation, IDF fighter jets and attack helicopters struck PIJ military targets throughout the Gaza Strip, among them a military compound in Khan Yunis used by the terror group for training and weapons storage.

Netanyahu warned on Monday that there would be serious consequences if the attacks continued.

“I am not hurrying into war. I know the price that our soldiers and the families of the fallen pay,” Netanyahu said. “Woe to Hamas and Islamic Jihad when that day comes! It’s their choice.”

“We will do what it takes to bring back total security for the residents of the south,” he added.

The latest round of fighting began early Sunday after footage of an Israeli military bulldozer retrieving a dead terrorist’s body went viral over the internet.

It was the heaviest round of fighting since November, when Israel and Islamic Jihad engaged in a two-day battle after Israel killed one of the group’s top commanders.