JERUSALEM, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military announced on Wednesday that its Iron Dome aerial defense system had intercepted a drone belonging to Hamas, the ruling party in the Gaza Strip.
According to a statement from an Israeli military spokesperson, the unmanned vehicle was downed over Gaza's airspace and "did not cross into Israeli territory and did not pose a threat to civilians in the surrounding area."
Palestinian media reported that Israeli missiles were fired at the drone as it flew over the towns of Khan Younes and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Following the incident, Israeli fighter jets were seen flying over the same area.
Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian movement, runs the Gaza Strip, a coastal Palestinian enclave that has been under blockade since 2007. ■
