Occupied Jerusalem -

In the days preceding the military aggression on the Gaza Strip and the military operation "The Truthful Dawn", the Israeli occupation army revealed that attack drones were flying over the Gaza Strip, to confront a potential threat from anti-tank teams belonging to the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad.

The mission of these drones was to gather intelligence and participate in offensive operations during which military leaders of the Islamic Jihad movement were assassinated, and they bombed rocket-launching platforms and military cells that launch anti-tank missiles.

On the day of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and before the start of the military operation, dozens of attack drones of the Israeli Air Force flew in the sky of Gaza, as were marches from Unit 5353, known as “Riding the Sky”, which is affiliated with the Artillery Corps and whose work is focused on collecting intelligence information. And transferring them, via live and direct broadcasts, to the ground combat units, artillery teams, and the operations room of the IDF Staff.

These attacking and intelligence rallies fired the first bullet in the military operation, "Al-Fajr al-Sadiq", and, along with 8 Israeli Air Force fighters, participated in the assassination of the prominent military leader of the Al-Quds Brigades, Tayseer al-Jabari, by targeting him inside an apartment in the "Burj Palestine" in the Rimal neighborhood, west of Gaza.

According to the IDF, these drones enable the army to control and control the atmosphere, as well as give the various military battalions the ability to maintain a military space cell for several hours.

These aircraft are also active, in cooperation with other military forces, in collecting intelligence information, especially as they have a high-quality monitoring capacity, and they monitor and document everything that happens in the field.

A room for monitoring and following up the marches during the recent aggression on Gaza (Al-Jazeera)

A variety

From the Israeli point of view, the flight of marches into space and their dominance over the sky during the recent Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip put pressure on the resistance factions, as the Israeli army enabled the adoption of the element of surprise, by carrying out preemptive operations before any offensive operation that any Palestinian armed faction aspires to put into effect.

The Israeli Air Force possesses a variety of drones of different sizes, which were used against the Palestinian resistance after the second intifada in October 2000, and the military operations against Gaza were a renewed opportunity for the Israeli military aerospace companies to experiment and test these marches in time of war and to develop and modernize their capabilities .

At the beginning of 2022, the military sergeant agreed to the Israeli army’s use of drones to carry out attacks in “enemy territories,” as he put it. "Knock on the roof", which warns of the implementation of raids and attacks of the fighters of the Israeli Air Force.

 The most prominent drones that participated in the aggression on the Gaza Strip:

"Hermes" drones refueling before launch (Al-Jazeera)

1. The March of Hermes 450

Known as "Zek", it is a drone manufactured by the Israeli company "Elbit", and it is a tactical aircraft equipped with remote-operated missiles and capable of flying and staying in the air for 20 hours continuously, and it can carry explosive missiles weighing 150 kilograms, as it can be used in missions Attack, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.

The Hermes is the third largest drone in the UAV Army, and is operated by the 161st Squadron of the Air Force, known as the Black Snake Squadron, and also by the Zick Unit of the Artillery Corps.

2. March 900 (Hermes 900)

It is a drone manufactured and developed by the Israeli airline, and this march is known in the Air Force as “Kochav” (star), as it can stay in the air and fly in the air for 40 hours continuously.

The Hermes 900 was used in the war on Gaza in 2014, through the military operation that Israel called "Protective Edge", and Hamas responded with the battle of "Eating Storm".

This aircraft can carry up to 4 AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles or AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles. ) used to intercept aircraft and drones.

It is also capable of carrying GBU-12 Fiveway laser-guided bombs or similar "JDAM" bombs that are used to target sites, launch attacks, carry out clashes, assassinations and specific operations.

The "Eitan" drone, the largest of the parades in the Israeli Air Force (Al-Jazeera)

3. March "Eitan"

It is also known by other names such as "Haron TB", "Haron 2" or "Mahatz 2", and it is manufactured and developed by the Israel Aerospace Industries Company, and it is the largest drone of the Israeli Air Force.

It is capable of staying in the air and hovering in the air for 36 hours continuously, and its length is 15 meters, while its weight is estimated at 5 tons, and it can carry 1,000 kilograms of explosive missiles.

4. The mini-march "Netsus"

After the end of the recent military aggression on Gaza, the Israeli Air Force launched a new squadron of drones at Hatzor base, in the name of the “144th Squadron”, which operates a new “Netsus” drone, as well as a small “Orbiter” drone made by Israel. Aeronautics, an Israeli company owned by Rafael Corporation.

These marches were newly introduced into the service of the Israeli army during the aggression on Gaza to perform the tasks of intelligence, escorting the forces, directing the attack and assisting in maneuvering in cooperation with all branches of the army units in the field and the operations room.

These aircraft can be modernized and adapted to the battlefield, depending on the developments in the field during the battles, knowing that one of the unique characteristics of the squadron is the documentation and capture of movements in the field at an early stage.