Israel shoots down Iranian drone entering Israeli airspace from Syria

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed shooting down an Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace from neighboring Syria on Sunday. 

The Israeli military reportedly used advanced electronic capabilities in the operation but refrained from giving specifics. The IDF indicated it was monitoring the hostile aircraft for some time before it was “taken down over an open area.” 

The army said the operation did not pose a threat to Israeli civilians in the area. 

Addressing IDF soldiers ahead of the Passover holiday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Israel faces Iranian threats on all fronts. 

“The Iranians are extending their outreach to Judea and Samaria and Gaza, and are attempting to entrench themselves in Syria and Lebanon,” the defense minister cautioned. “We will not allow the Iranians and Hezbollah to harm us. We have not allowed it in the past, we won’t allow it now, or anytime in the future.” 

Gallant formerly served in Israel’s top naval combat unit. 

The Iranian drone incident can be seen against a backdrop of growing tensions between Israel and Iran in Syria. The Iranian regime reported on Sunday that another member of its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps died from wounds sustained during a recent air strike. Iran blames Israel for the strike and the IRGC openly threatened Israel following the incident,

“The Zionist regime will undoubtedly receive a response to this crime,” the organization said. 

Israel and Iran have been locked in a prolonged shadow war throughout the region, with Syria becoming a major battleground between Tehran and Jerusalem. The Islamic Republic has invested considerable resources to entrench itself both militarily and politically in Syria. 

The ayatollah regime is looking to establish a Shiite corridor of influence that stretches from Iran, via Syria and Lebanon, to the Mediterranean Sea, as well as to establish a new military front on Israel’s northern border. Israel, for its part, is committed to preventing Iran from establishing any permanent threats on Israel’s northern doorstep. 

The Israeli Air Force has carried out hundreds of military operations against Iranian targets throughout Syria. The Syrian Assad regime, which is allied with Iran, recently accused Israel of carrying out a third airstrike in Syria within just four days. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency claimed that the IAF killed five Syrian soldiers in two different locations. 

The Iranian Mehr News Agency reported on Sunday that Meqdad Mehghani, an IRGC soldier, had died from wounds sustained during a recent Israeli airstrike in Syria. 

“Meqdad Mehghani was wounded during the Zionist attack on Friday dawn and was martyred,” reported the state media outlet. 

The IRGC, and especially its Quds force, is responsible for maintaining and developing the ayatollah regime’s vast network of terror proxies across the Middle East and elsewhere. Key players in this terror network include Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza and various Iran-affiliated militias in Syria and Iraq. 

In addition, Iran has ambitions to acquire nuclear weapons capabilities and Tehran has vowed repeatedly to destroy Israel. 

Consequently, Israel views Iran and its terror proxy Hezbollah as its main security threat. Thanks to significant Iranian funding, Hezbollah has become one of the world’s most powerful terrorist militias. 

Past estimates suggest Hezbollah has an arsenal of 130,000 rockets and missiles that can reach any point inside Israel.