Israeli media reports stated that the Hamas movement dealt "Israel" its most significant military blow through the use of drones that "Hezbollah also possesses but at a more advanced level."

Haaretz noted that the opening strike executed by Hamas involved relatively small and inexpensive locally-made drones that succeeded in striking and disabling advanced Israeli systems valued at hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

The newspaper also pointed out that "Hamas also used drones, allowing militants to infiltrate beyond the fence, which enabled them to overcome Israeli technological superiority and take the forces on the ground by surprise."

It emphasized that "the most significant success is evident in the use of drones to target and disable at least one Merkava Mk4 tank," and that "this tank is considered one of the most advanced and heavily armored tanks in the world."

#Watch | Footage shows #Palestinian Resistance fighters capturing a number of Israeli occupation soldiers from inside their tanks during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.#Palestine #Gaza #طوفان_الأقصى
#فلسطين pic.twitter.com/HzFyxSKVxe

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 7, 2023

In the footage, Haaretz pointed out that the Iron Dome system did not function because it is a system designed to intercept anti-armor missiles and not armaments launched by drones.

Meanwhile, "Israel" has made a request for precision-guided bombs and extra interceptors for the Iron Dome system from the United States, as per both an Israeli military official and a US defense official.

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The newspaper also noted that "Hezbollah had previously launched several drones with varying levels of technology into Israeli airspace, some of which resemble the type revealed by Hamas the day before yesterday for intelligence-gathering purposes, and also for attack when needed."

It is worth noting that Al-Qassam Brigades revealed that the airforce had been engaged in battle since the early hours of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

They revealed that 35 al-Zouari suicide drones were deployed in different combat sites: attacking different enemy positions 

Al-Qassam Brigades shared, on Saturday, footage of the al-Zouari suicide drone attacking Israeli positions to distract the Iron Dome. The drone offered aerial support for the resistance fighters to cross into the occupied Palestinian territories of the Gaza envelope.  

#WATCH | Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media posted a video depicting the first instances of yesterday's #OperationAlAqsaFlood.

The clip depicts the neutralization of Israeli Watch towers with drones and a rocket barrage to distract Iron Dome timed with sending in Para-gliders. pic.twitter.com/a5XhhFQrzL

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 8, 2023

In the same context, the brigades announced that five speedboats carrying al-Qassam Brigades navy commandos from Gaza landed in occupied territories during the first stages of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Saturday morning. 

The statement said the special forces were able to execute a beach landing to the south of Askalan, taking control of several areas.

The fighters were able to engage and confront targets, costing the enemy severe casualties, as several of these fighters continued to fight occupation forces for more than 30 hours since the operation was launched, the statement read.

Read next: Israeli Media: Hamas used unknown communication devices for operation