Israel Downs Hamas Drone Launched From Gaza

Israel shot down a drone belonging to the militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, the IDF's Spokesperson Unit said Monday.

The drone was monitored by Israel's air traffic control unit before crashing into the sea, the military said.

Last week, Israel launched a new balloon-mounted radar system with advanced missile and aircraft detection capabilities into the sky over northern Israel.

The system, dubbed "Sky Dew," is designed to warn against drones and advanced munitions threatening Israeli territory. The defense establishment has identified attempts in recent years by Iran to deploy drones with advanced capabilities in Lebanon and Syria, and in places farther afield. The drones were manufactured by Iran with the intent to attack Israel.

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Hezbollah and Hamas are also investing major resources to establish an advanced array of drones to deploy against Israel. There have been a number of foiled attempts by Iranian officials to carry out attacks from Syrian territory in recent years.