Overview
- Defense Minister Israel Katz directed the IDF to declare the area along the Israel–Egypt frontier a closed military zone.
- Revised rules of engagement authorize strikes on any unauthorized actor entering the restricted zone to target drone operators and smugglers.
- Shin Bet chief David Zini will seek to classify drone‑based weapons smuggling as a terror threat to expand security agencies’ legal tools.
- The Defense Ministry’s R&D arm will accelerate counter‑drone technologies with the Air Force, and the National Security Council will advance licensing and legislative controls on drone use, purchase and possession.
- Officials link the crackdown to the Gaza conflict and warn smugglers of a “very heavy price,” as security services report over 100 drone incursions in the past month.