18 June 2022; MEMO: The Palestinian resistance managed to seize control of the Israeli surveillance balloon early on Friday after it was shot down in the town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.
Palestinian sources confirmed to Quds Press that the Israeli surveillance balloon seized by the Palestinian resistance was not the first it had seized. It has previously seized several balloons, as well as advanced drones.
Israeli sources revealed fears of dangerous information leaks and the resistance obtaining high-quality imaging equipment.
Palestinian writer and political analyst Mustafa Al-Sawaf believes: "What is important is that the resistance was able to seize this surveillance balloon, regardless of what method is used to shoot it down," describing the incident as "serious".
Al-Sawaf told Quds Press: "The occupation believes that the resistance is unaware and does not monitor its movements, so it tried to penetrate the Gaza Strip from the north and present a special force, but the resistance men were on the lookout, confronting the occupation and preventing them from entering the Gaza Strip."
He pointed out: "The matter almost reached the level of a clash, but a reconnaissance aircraft intervened by firing two missiles, thus preventing this and securing the withdrawal of the special force."
He added: "The occurrence of three incidents in Jenin and Gaza gives quick and dangerous indications that confrontation between the resistance and the occupation is fast approaching, and we must monitor the situation with high accuracy because the coming hours will carry a lot."
It is worth noting that the Israeli army radio station, Doron Kadosh, announced: "The army's initial investigation revealed that the surveillance balloon that fell in Gaza had fallen due to technical difficulty and that the army said there is no fear of significant information leakage, although the army tried to open warning fire near it, Hamas still managed to seize the balloon."