Iran sent an armed drone to Israel even as the Middle East hostilities are at a peak and the IDF and Gaza's Hamas are locked in a bitter battle. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the armed drone sent by Iran was intercepted and shot down.
Netanyahu made the claim during a a meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Tel Aviv on Thursday.
Sent from Iraq or Syria
Netanyahu said the drone was sent from Iraq or Syria. It was intercepted on Israel's border with Jordan.
"Iranian forces launched an armed drone, which our forces intercepted on the border between Israel and Jordan," Netanyahu said during the meeting, according to a statement issued by his office.
"While we were engaged in these hostilities a few days ago, Iran sent an armed drone from Iraq or from Syria," Netanyahu added.
Iran Supporting Islamic Jihad in Gaza says Netanyahu
Netanyahu said Iran was supporting and financing the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, besides supplying weapons to Hamas and to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. "Iran not only supports completely the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, and gives them all the finance, they also give weapons to Hamas as well as to Hezbollah and they provide the scaffolding on which these organizations really work," Netanyahu said, according to Israel's JPost.
Israeli air strikes of Gaza strip has entered the second week, and Hamas has fired more than 4,000 rockets into Israel.
Netanyahu told the German foreign minister that the Jewish state is fighting on multiple fronts. He underscored that Iran is behind all of the incursions against Israel. "I think says everything on the true patron of terror in the Middle East and in the world: Iran," Netanyahu told Maas, showing him a piece of the drone shot down.
IDF Collects Fragments of the Drone
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said the drone was approaching the Israeli-Jordanian border. The drone was targeting the Emek HaMa'ayanot Regional Council in northern Israel. The residents of the city were told to lock themselves in their homes for an hour, after which they were give the go-ahead to move about.
IDF said it collected fragments of the drone and are conducting further examinations.
Germany has reiterated its support for Israel. "Germany stands with Israel and its right to defend itself ... I came to Israel to show solidarity and support Israel after the rocket fire from Gaza. Israel has the right to defend itself ... Israel's security and that of the Jewish residents here are not negotiable," Maas said.
