The Israeli army has changed commercial drones to transport bombs and studies in Gaza, revealed an investigation by the Tel Aviv Tribune Sanad verification agency.
According to Sanad, drones made by Chinese technology giant DJI were used to attack hospitals and civilians and monitoring Palestinian prisoners forced to act as human shields for highly armored Israeli soldiers.
This is not the first time that DJI drones have been modified and used by the armies. There were similar reports on both sides of the Russian-Ukraine war in 2022.
At the time, DJI suspended all sales in the two countries and introduced software changes that restrict the areas where its drones could be used and at their height.
However, Dji has not stopped selling drones in Israel.
The use by Israel of DJI drones
The use by the Israeli army of DJI drones is not new.
In 2018, DJI drones would have been used in many divisions in the Israeli army. The Israeli campaign group Hamushim has found evidence that operators formed by the Israeli soldiers used DJI matrix 600 model to abandon tear gas on civilian demonstrators during the high return of the following year in Gaza.
Despite their previous deployment by the Israeli army, their fatal use against civilians and protected targets in Gaza, as indicated in this survey, is unprecedented.
Tel Aviv Tribune contacted the Israeli authorities to request comments on the conclusions of this investigation, but received no response at the time of publication.
Sanad documented several DJI drones that have been adapted to military use.
However, it is the powerful DJI AGRAS drone, developed for agricultural use, which is most important.
According to its manufacturers, the DJI Agras can transport a substantial payload and is capable of precision flight.
As the Sanad’s investigation shows, it can also be used to deliver an explosive payload to targets out of reach of conventional military forces.
In addition to the DJI agras, the DJI Mavic was used by the Israeli army of Gaza for the recognition and acquisition of targets.
Likewise, the DJI Avata DJI drone, designed for recreational shooting, was reused by the Israeli army to navigate and map complex tunnel networks under Gaza.
Attacks against Northern Gaza
At the end of 2024, Israel began northern Gaza, pushing the population on the verge of famine and imposing conditions described as “apocalyptic” by the United Nations observers.
Residents and humanitarian organizations have reported an alarming number of what seemed to be civilian explosive drones.
In an incident documented by displaced civilians, images shared on July 17, 2024 show a DJI agras drone drop a bomb on the Turkish charitable organization IHH in Jabalia, in the north of Gaza, less than 100 meters (330 feet) from a school to a refuge and a distribution center of shelter and aid.
In November in Beit Lahia, in the north of Gaza, a Dji Agras drone dropped a bomb in a residential area where civilians had fled after the Israeli bombardment of an unpaid school.
People who witnessed the attack told Sanad that the attack seemed calculated to inspire fear.
Surveillance and urban war
Beyond direct attacks, DJI drones modified by Israelis have been widely used for monitoring and tactical operations through Gaza.
In another incident, images obtained by Tel Aviv Tribune Arab from an Israeli drone shows an avata DJI helping to follow an unnamed Palestinian used by Israeli soldiers strongly armed as a human shield – an illegal practice under international law – in Shujaiya in December 2023.
We see the individual opening the doors of the school to ensure that there were no Palestinian fighters inside, closely monitored by another drone which captured the whole operation.
DJI Double Standards: Gaza vs Ukraine
In 2022, in response to the complaints of Ukrainian officials that DJI shared critical data with their Russian opponents, the drone manufacturer suspended all sales to its retail partners in the two countries.
Dji explained this decision: “We will never accept any use of our products to harm, and we will continue to strive to improve the world with our work.”
Despite the evidence of DJI drones armed by the Israeli army in Gaza, Dji did not have such an answer.
Responding to Sanad’s direct requests, DJI said: “Our products are for peaceful and civilian use only, and we do not condemn the use of products (DJI) to cause damage all over the world.”
A subsequent direct request asked whether it planned to “stop sales in Israel or implement measures similar to those taken in the Russian-Ukraine conflict”.
But Dji did not answer the question that did not take action to stop sales or impose software restrictions on the place where drones can fly over Gaza, allowing continuous military deployments of their drones by the Israeli army.
