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Tuesday December 4, 2007       Free Headline Alerts

Palestinians report increased flights by Israeli combat drones

GAZA CITY — The Israel Air Force was said to have increased its use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian sources said the air force increased UAV operations in reconnaissance and attack missions in the Gaza Strip, Middle East Newsline reported. The sources said the use of UAVs was meant to avoid being struck by Hamas surface-to-air missiles against Israeli manned aircraft.

"Hamas has developed methods to strike low-flying helicopters with both SAMs as well as other weapons," a Palestinian source said.

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On Thursday, an Israeli UAV fired missiles toward Hamas fighters in the southern Gaza Strip. The sources said the unidentified UAV launched missiles that killed four Palestinians in Abasan and Bani Suheila. Over the last week, more than 20 Palestinian fighters were said to have been killed.

Israel has never confirmed the use of combat UAVs in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli spokeswoman said the missiles were fired from a helicopter.

The Palestinian sources said Israel has used several models of UAVs in combat missions in the Gaza Strip. They said the missiles fired were smaller than standard air-to-ground weapons.

Hamas was said to have acquired about 100 SAMs over the last year, the sources said. They said most of the missiles were believed to be the Russian-origin SAM-7, with a range of 3.5 kilometers.

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