Video: The building where an explosive drone was sent, apparently for the purpose of assassination as part of a conflict between criminals (Shlomi Gabay)
Police continue to investigate the circumstances of the powerful explosion that took place Sunday night in a residential building in Netanya. It is believed that the explosion was caused by an explosive drone flown into one of the apartments, but other directions are being examined, such as throwing an IED from another floor of the building.
The person who lived in the apartment was a criminal known to the police, who was previously identified as a member of the Mesika crime gang, a well-known gang in Netanya that took part in battles with other gangs in the city.
For decades, criminal organizations in Israel have been using explosive devices for assassinations, usually by burying them in vehicles. But after the past few years, during which drones have entered all areas of life, the underworld has also discovered the advantages of using this means.
Damage caused by the explosive drone in the apartment where the offender lived, yesterday (Photo: documentation on social networks according to section 27A of the Copyright Law)
The use of drones reduces the chances of being caught and increases the lethality of assassinations. Among the advantages of this measure are the carrying capacity, the ability to reach quietly and the camera. Criminals have also used drones for various purposes, such as gathering information about the enemy and smuggling phones into prisons.
In January, the Central Unit of the Tel Aviv District uncovered a network of seven suspects who planned to attack a man in Jaffa with a drone attached to an IED. A foreign resident from the Philippines riding his bicycle on Jerusalem Boulevard in the city noticed a drone with a suspicious IED attached. He reported it to police officers at the scene, who began following four suspects who were on their way to a nearby house.
After suspicion arose that it was an armed drone, the police broke into the house and arrested the four suspects on the spot, along with another suspect from Jaffa who lives there and two others who were arrested at a later stage. In a search near the place of arrest, investigators found two drone kits, cell phones, explosives and explosives.
In order to deal with the threats of using drones for criminal purposes, the police carry out ongoing intelligence work and use various technological means, but there is no doubt that the growing use of drones poses a new challenge to personal security.
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