JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel used unmanned drones to attack Iranian convoys in Sudan on their way to smuggle arms into Gaza, a British newspaper reported.
The long-range missiles being smuggled to Hamas in two convoys at the end of January and in the first week of February had the range to strike Tel Aviv and Israel’s nuclear reactor at Dimona, according to the report in the Sunday Times.
At least 50 smugglers were killed in the attacks, the Sunday Times reported.
Unnamed defense sources told the newspaper that Israel chose to use the drones, called unmanned aerial vehicles, because the convoy is a target that is on the move.
“When you attack a fixed target, especially a big one, you are better off using jet aircraft," one source said. "But with a moving target with no definite time for the move UAVs are best, as they can hover extremely high and remain unseen until the target is on the move.”
Earlier this week, Sudanese officials blamed the strike on American forces, but on Friday a Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the attack "most probably involved Israel."
The January airstrike took place in a remote desert area of eastern Sudan, the officials said, according to Reuters.
Anonymous U.S. officials told The New York Times that Israeli warplanes carried out the January attack.
Though Israel has refused to confirm or deny the attacks, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister told a conference Thursday in Herzliya that "Israel hits every place it can in order to stop terror, near and far." Many interpreted it as a veiled reference to the Sudan strikes.
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