Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to declare the area adjacent to the Israel–Egypt border a restricted military zone and to change rules of engagement accordingly. Katz told senior security officials he and Shin Bet head David Zini agreed to treat the smuggling of weapons by drones as a terrorist threat. "We are declaring war — anyone who breaches the forbidden area will be attacked," he said.
The decisions were made at an emergency meeting on Wednesday about the drone threat on the Israel–Egypt border. Participants included Defense Ministry Director-General Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai and representatives of the Defense Ministry, the Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet security agency, the National Security Council and the Israel Police.
At the end of the meeting Katz instructed the IDF to convert the strip of land along the border into a restricted military zone and to adjust rules of engagement to attack any unauthorized element who enters the area, in order to stop drone operators and other smuggling operations.
It was also agreed that DDR&D at the Defense Ministry will promote technological solutions in cooperation with the Israeli Air Force, and that the National Security Council will assist on issues including mandatory licensing and legislative amendments addressing the use, purchase and possession of drones.
Katz said, "I convened you here to declare war on the smuggling of drones on the Israel–Egypt border. In war, as in war, the current situation is dangerous to the state's security and cannot continue. The smuggling of weapons by drones is part of the war in Gaza and is intended to arm our enemies. All measures must be taken to stop it.
"As we created deterrence with Hezbollah in Lebanon regarding unmanned aerial systems and attacks on communities, here too we must create deterrence and make clear to those involved in smuggling that the rules of the game are changing. They will pay a very heavy price if they do not stop."
