Hamas's military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claimed on Tuesday that it had seized an Israeli "Orbiter" drone in the Gaza Strip, after Palestinian media claimed an Israeli drone fell in the Strip on Monday.
Though at first, the expected culprit drone was thought to be from the IDF, as Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon have downed quite a few IDF drones, the IDF immediately categorically denied the drone was one of its own.مراسل شهاب: سقوط طائرة استطلاع إسرائيلية في حي الزيتون شرق مدينة غزة pic.twitter.com/aWthqalIHH
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) August 14, 2023
KAN reports drone belonged to Shin Bet
Unlike the IDF, when the Shin Bet was questioned, it refused to address a KAN report that the drone belonged to it.
While this is not a full confirmation, the Shin Bet's refusal to comment coupled with the IDF's hard denial suggests this is an unusual situation where a Shin Bet drone has been captured.
It was unclear how often this has happened in the past or whether the agency would need to publicly address the issue as the IDF frequently does, with assurances that no secrets were given up.