Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled late Tuesday afternoon to intercept an unauthorized UAV that was flying in the airspace over the Gaza Strip, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit reported.
The interception was ordered because the UAV was flying at a very unusual altitude of four kilometers (some 12,000 feet).
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Airspace is divided into flight altitudes. Over this area, commercial aircraft fly at 3,000-4,000 feet and do not exceed altitudes of 5,500 feet. Civil flights over the ocean fly at some 1,200 feet, or 400 meters above the water, making Tuesday's drone flight a highly unusual event.
The drone interception over the Gaza Strip on Tuesday is not the first such incident and appears unlikely to be the last. On Oct. 17, military personnel intercepted a drone that was en route to penetrate Israeli airspace from Gaza before it crossed the border fence.