Israel to declare Egypt border area closed military zone to curb drone arms smuggling

JERUSALEM, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to declare the area along the Israel-Egypt border a closed military zone to halt a growing threat from drone-borne arms smuggling.

Katz, speaking after a meeting on the drone threat at the Defense Ministry, said he and Shin Bet security agency chief David Zini had agreed to classify drone-borne weapons smuggling across the border as "a terrorist threat."

"We are declaring war -- anyone who breaches the forbidden area will be struck," Katz said.

The Defense Ministry said its Directorate of Defense Research and Development, a branch responsible for developing advanced weapons technologies, would promote technological countermeasures.

The move comes amid repeated incidents of drone activity along the southern border that Israeli officials say have been used to smuggle weapons into Gaza and to support militant groups. Katz said such smuggling was "part of the war in Gaza" and "must be stopped by all available means."

The designation of drone-borne arms smuggling as a "terrorist threat" is intended to give security agencies broader powers to counter the activity, ministry officials said.

Israel and Egypt, which signed a peace treaty in 1979, share a border of about 200 km along the eastern edge of the Sinai Peninsula, where Israel has built a fortified fence equipped with observation posts and radar systems.

However, drones have been increasingly used for smuggling in recent years, with nearly 900 drones reported between July and October 2025, according to figures released by the Ramat HaNegev Regional Council, where most of the smuggling occurred. ■