Iron Dome mistakenly intercepts Israeli drone during Gaza offensive

JERUSALEM (AA) – An Israeli drone was shot down by the country's Iron Dome defense system by mistake during attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to local media on Tuesday.

“The Iron Dome system mistakenly intercepted an army drone during Operation Guardian of the Walls (the recent war on Gaza),” a military source was quoted as saying by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.

The broadcaster, however, did not mention the date of the drone interception.

Iron Dome is the Israeli defense system operating in the south to intercept short-range missiles and rockets fired by Palestinian resistance groups from the Gaza Strip.

At least 253 Palestinians, including 66 children and 39 women, were killed, and more than 1,900 others injured in 11 days of massive Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The violence erupted against the backdrop of tension over an Israeli court ruling to evict Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem and police assaults on worshippers inside the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Thirteen Israelis were also killed in Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. The fighting, the fiercest in years, came to a halt on Friday under an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire.

* Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara