Hamas: Downing of Israeli drone clear message of resistance to Zionist regime

Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior official of the Palestinian Hamas Movement, underlined that the downing of an Israeli drone by Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades on Sunday, was a clear message to the Zionist regime and those who embark on holding negotiations with the regime. “The downing of the Zionist regime’s drone and its seizure in North of the Gaza Strip is a clear and transparent message to the Zionist enemy and those negotiating with the regime,” Zahar told FNA in Gaza Strip on Monday. He stressed that Palestinians residing in the Gaza Strip will continue resistance and strive to make new achievements every day. Al-Qassam Brigades announced on Sunday that it had shot down an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and managed to find it. The al-Qassam Brigades said on Twitter that it shot down what it called a “mini-drone” over the Gaza strip. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said the drone crashed because of a technical malfunction. A photo on the al-Qassam Brigade’s Twitter account showed a picture of the crashed drone. The military wing of Hamas tweeted that this is not the first time it had shot down an Israeli UAV, citing Operation Shale Stone in 2012 - when it shot down an Israeli Skylite B drone. It also tweeted an incident from January 5, 2009, when it shot down a mini UAV drone.