Egypt air force downs drone off south Sinai

ISMAILIA, Egypt — The Egyptian air force shot down a drone off the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday down the coast from the Israeli border, state-linked media reported.

Witnesses said they had seen a second flying object crash on land further up the coast.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they had fired multiple drones at southern Israel.

A Houthi spokesman said on X, formerly Twitter, that the operation, targeting “sensitive” sites inside Israel, was part of the rebels’ campaign to pressure Israel to halt its “aggression” in Gaza.

Egyptian television channel Al Qahera reported “the crash of an unidentified flying object in Egyptian territorial waters near the city of Dahab”.

It quoted witnesses as saying “air defences detected the flying object and dealt with it immediately”.

A source in the security services told AFP that it was a drone of which “the origin is still unknown”.

In recent weeks, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have stepped up their operations in support of Gaza, repeatedly targeting shipping passing through the Red Sea, whether or not it is headed to Israeli ports.

The attacks have caused major disruption to the key shipping lane between Asia and Europe, with two global firms announcing they were redirecting their vessels.

The Houthis have carried out previous drone launches towards southern Israel since Hamas launched its shock cross-border surprise attack on October 7, triggering an all-out offensive against the fighter group which rules Gaza.

In late October, six people were wounded in Egypt when two drones came down in the Sinai Peninsula.