Overview
- Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to designate the border-adjacent area a closed military zone and to authorize strikes on any unauthorized actors entering it.
- IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir directed the military to prioritize resources against the growing drone smuggling threat, calling it a security risk with terror potential.
- A joint task force has been created, intelligence collection will be intensified, and a new combat unit is being formed to counter smuggling in difficult terrain and at night.
- Shin Bet chief David Zini is pursuing a terrorism designation for drone-based weapons smuggling, while the National Security Council prepares licensing and legislative measures on drones.
- The Defense Ministry’s R&D directorate and the Air Force will accelerate counter-drone technologies, as reports cite over 100 recent incursions and the IDF notes concerns about using military force against civilian smugglers.