Israel says it knocked out Hamas drone program

On Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, Israeli Defense Forces released this video it claims shows a Hamas drone aircraft being tested in Khan Yunis, Gaza. / IDF/YouTube

Last Updated at 7:42 p.m. Eastern

TEL AVIV An Israeli Defense Force spokesman said Friday that a Hamas militant program to build and launch drone aircraft has been destroyed.

Speaking on Israeli television, an IDF spokesman said that for the past few months Israel has been monitoring Hamas' attempt to build a drone fleet.

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Israeli Defense Forces strike Hamas drone

Black-and-white video released by the IDF shows a strike on a Hamas drone being tested at Khan Yunis in Gaza. In a Twitter message the IDF said the video shows "what that program once looked like."

Israel appeared to be preparing for an escalation of its military operation against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, with troops and armored vehicles gathering on the border, and a call to 16,000 Israeli reservists.

On Friday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak sought approval to mobilize up to 75,000 reservists, Reuters reports.

The latest moves come as Hamas-fired rockets were launched against Jerusalem for the first time, along with commercial hub Tel Aviv, showing off their expanded range.

• Palestinian rocket aimed at Jerusalem for first time as Hamas vows "more surprises"

CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey and his team -- along with other news crews -- were forced by the Israeli military to move away from the border of the Gaza Strip on Friday morning, another signal pointing to a possible ground incursion into the tiny Palestinian territory.

Pizzey reports that as dawn broke in the Israeli town of Sderot, on the Gaza border, the extent of the force massed along the frontier made it clear Israel was preparing for a ground fight -- 16,000 Israeli reservists were called up on Thursday. The last invasion was four years ago, and analysts say Hamas will be better prepared this time.

Israeli soldiers with armored vehicles gather in a staging ground near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Friday, Nov. 16, 2012. Fierce clashes between Israeli forces and Gaza militants are continuing for the third day.

/ AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov

Air raid sirens sounded in the two cities which -- unlike population centers in Israel's south -- had not been exposed to rocket fire from Hamas-ruled Gaza before the current round of cross-border fighting. No injuries were reported, but Hamas' latest attempts to hit Israel's heartland could push Israel closer to sending ground troops into Gaza.

Over the past three days, Israel has relentlessly pounded suspected rocket launching sites and other Hamas targets in Gaza with scores of airstrikes, while Hamas has fired more than 450 rockets toward Israel. The overall death toll rose to 30 -- 27 Palestinians and three Israelis.

In Israel, Pizzey reported, a funeral Friday was interrupted by a warning siren that another missile was on its way. There is a growing fear that Hamas has vastly improved its arsenal.

A Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida was quoted by news agencies as saying: "We are sending a short and simple message: There is no security for any Zionist on any single inch of Palestine and we plan more surprises." Hamas officials said the rocket was a homemade "M-75" rocket, a weapon that has never been fired before.

Map of the Middle East and Israel

/ CBS

While no one was hurt when the missile fell just short of the ancient city (which is also home to hundreds of Palestinians, and the al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest shrine in Islam), the attack told Israelis that Jerusalem - about 50 miles from the Gaza Strip - is no longer out of reach.

If indeed the missile was fired from Gaza, it demonstrated that Hamas' military wing has figured out how to extend the range of its missiles, perhaps by cutting down on the payload to add more fuel, said Pizzey.

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Mitchell on Mideast tensions: Israel obviously has a right to defend itself

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Israel close to sending ground forces into Gaza

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Israel, Palestinians in deadly clashes

On Friday United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Hamas to end its rocket attacks on Israel, and asked Israeli leaders to exercise maximum restraint, to prevent a further escalation of violence.

Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said the secretary-general is "deeply worried by the rising cost in terms of civilian lives."

"A new cycle of bloodshed will make neither Israelis nor Palestinians more secure. Nor will bloodshed open the door to negotiations that could achieve the two-state solution necessary to end such violence permanently," the U.N. official said.

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[worldcitizen1]

There will be NO peace for Israel as long as it continues to steal land, and imprison millions of people!

[Rafterman11]

People rip the Israelis, but I guess its hard to understand the situation they are in when we all live nice and safe in the US. Israel is a tiny state, smaller than New Jersey and they have people around them who want to deny them their very existence. And now, even the one bit of peace they had, with Egypt, could very well renege on the peace treaty. To Israel, their survival is precarious and we, as Americans, have a hard time understanding their aggressiveness in foreign policy. But I suspect when your capital in within 5 minutes of airstrikes and chemical and biological weapons, its better to not wait until they strike you first - because by then, its already too late.

[askagain]

Rafterman11 - A very rational post. It is amazing how a country smaller than the state of New Jersey gets so much attention. All one has to do is look at a map of the Middle East to realize the massive land mass of hostlle enemies surrounding Israel.

[kcits]

Its a shame that this small country happens to run the largest open air prison desnly packed with people that they have cut off from the rest of the world. Then they send in drones that kill leaders and innocent bystanders.
Its a shame that after taking just about what is unbearable living conditions the people in that open air prison have shot homemade rockets into the small country that is imprisoning them.

Yet we in the US sit back and allow one small country to totally subjugate a population, cut it off from the world and stop the passage of food and medicine. Whats even sadder is that we give the small country lots and lots of money while they are doing this.

[aintfakin]

TheDominic replies:
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So this is Redneck News wisdom? Who is clobbering whom?
-------------------------------
sorry Dom
I see no wisdom whatsoever on the Palestinian side. They remind of a drunk I saw pick a fight one night outside a bar. When the drunk was lying in the gutter bleeding profusely he looked up and said to his hand picked opponent "I'm going to kill you" Instead of laughing like the rest of us did his opponent put him on life support for about 2 weeks. Damn lucky he didnt die hinself.
Make no mistake about it, The Israelis are going to protect themselves at all costs. They have created an advance and vibrant country inspite of their expenditures on defense. There is no way the Palestinians are going to win this fight. They can meet allah or try and cooperate a little more and benefit from the Israeli economy

[kcits]

The problem is that in this case it wasnt the Palistinians, you didnt read the story.

"The latest flare-up exploded into major violence Wednesday when Israel assassinated Hamas' military chief, following up with a punishing air assault meant to cripple the militants' ability to terrorize Israel with rockets."

[wmcgahan]

If hezbulload does get involved, Iran will regret ever supporting Syria and hezbulload. This will give the green light to taking out Iran's nuclear program.

[omcovert]

That is going to happen very soon too....everything is coming to a head over there and the whole area will implode in War and sooner or later the nukes will pop and JESUS will return.

[Rcassis]

Can you imagine what would happen if Canada fired 274 missiles into the USA (this year according to Reuters)?

I'm amazed the Israelis haven't leveled the place.

[kcits]

Can you imagine what would happen if we in the US sent drones into Canada and assassinated members of the Canadian Government with rockets? Perhaps Canada would send in 274 missiles into the USA.

You might as well have a complete analogy instead of half of one.

[Rick_Carter1]

My heart goes out to the nation of Israel. This is like living next door to a rabid animal.

[aintfakin]

wasn't it Theodore Roosevelt who said "speak softly and carry a big stick"??
Funny how the muslims take the opposite approach

[TheDominic]

So this is Redneck News wisdom? Who is clobbering whom?

[KansasCity-2012]

When Russians, Iranians or Syrians want to know how long their weapons can survive against Israel, they send them to HAMAS.

The Israelis have a burden to carry that most others don't normally have.

While Russians, Iranians, and Syrians watch Israel, we watch Russians, Iranians and Syrians.

The skirmish will end within two weeks. HAMAS has to let go of their militant tendencies or face extinction. Neither Russians, Iranians, nor Syrians will raise a finger to save HAMAS.

It is up to HAMAS to decide which master they will serve.

[ricomacalester]

Your article refers to Iranian support for Hezbollah "which is present in Iran."
You mean "Lebanon."

[VoodooRayo]

Hamas has a drone program?!?! Who knew!! They'd more likely strap a helium balloon to a suicide bomber and drop him over the target.