Israel announces downing of drone in the north of the country: investigation into whether it was launched from Jordan or Syria

The IDF reported on Tuesday it shot down a drone near the border with Jordan, yet not knowing where it took off, amid mounting tensions over the Gaza offensive and protests. and clashes in the cities of the West Bank and Israel.

The Defense Forces (IDF) indicated through their account on the social network Twitter that the device “has been identified and shot down”, before adding that “the fragments were recovered by the security forces”.

The drone has been neutralized near the town of Beit Shean, located in northern Israel, more precisely between the Jordan valley and the valley of Megiddo. The military has not detailed where the drone took off from and it is not known whether it did so from Jordan or Syria, whose border is not far away.

In this sense, the Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel He recalled that a drone entered Israeli airspace in 2018 in a nearby area before being shot down by Israel. The Iranian-made device was launched from Syria, where Israel shelled Iranian targets in retaliation.

The incident takes place hours after Jordanian parliament unanimously passed motion urging government to expel Israeli ambassador from Amman and to summon the Jordanian ambassador to Tel Aviv in the face of escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Also, lawmakers demanded the withdrawal of Jordan’s ambassador from Israel and the prime minister, present in parliament, said he would examine all options “and he will be up to the task.”

The violation of Israeli airspace came as fighting continues between Israel and Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip, which also triggered demonstrations of support for Gaza on other Israeli borders. Several projectiles were launched from Lebanon, according to the IDF, and some missiles from Syria, where the Hezbollah group said one of its members was killed.

Israel has waged an almost ten-year bombing campaign in Syria in an attempt to prevent Iran and allied militias from establishing attack bases or transferring advanced weapons to Hezbollah.

Israel and the militias reduced the clashes on Tuesday, after two days of intense firefights, with no more deaths in the final hours, which remain at 212 Palestinians in the strip and ten others in Israel.

Various organizations have called for a “humanitarian pause” to access the enclave, with extensive damage to homes and civilian infrastructure and whose Israeli-controlled access has been closed since the escalation began.

The IDF, which calls the current offensive a “Guardian of the Walls,” said Tuesday it would continue to attack militia targets and “operate with all force necessary.”

(With information from EFE and Europa Press)

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