Palestinians claim to have downed Shin Bet drone in Gaza

Palestinians on social media claimed on Monday to have downed an Israeli drone in the Gaza Strip.

مراسل شهاب: سقوط طائرة استطلاع إسرائيلية في حي الزيتون شرق مدينة غزة pic.twitter.com/aWthqalIHH

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) August 14, 2023

Though at first, the expected culprit drone was thought to be from the IDF, as Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon have downed quite a few IDF drones, the IDF immediately categorically denied the drone was one of its own.

KAN reports drone belonged to Shin Bet

Unlike the IDF, when the Shin Bet was questioned, it refused to address a KAN report that the drone belonged to it.

Palestinian fighters from the armed wing of Hamas take part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)

While this is not a full confirmation, the Shin Bet’s refusal to comment coupled with the IDF’s hard denial suggests this is an unusual situation where a Shin Bet drone has been captured.

It was unclear how often this has happened in the past or whether the agency would need to publicly address the issue as the IDF frequently does, with assurances that no secrets were given up.

JPost