Israeli Units Weaponise Low-Cost Chinese Drones for Grenade Strikes in Gaza

Israeli investigative outlets +972 Magazine and Local Call report that frontline units have adapted off-the-shelf Chinese EVO quadcopters, made by Autel, to drop hand-grenades on targets inside Gaza. Seven current and former soldiers told the publications the low-cost aircraft are now widely deployed across several brigades after proving effective in crowded urban areas. The drones, purchased for around 10,000 shekels (roughly US$3,000) each, are fitted with a simple release device known among troops as the “iron ball”, allowing an operator to arm and detonate a grenade by pressing a button. Because the craft are controlled directly by small teams, strikes can be launched without the higher-level authorisations normally required for military aircraft, a system soldiers described to reporters as “decentralised killing”. Testimonies cited in the investigation say the tactic has been used to push residents from neighbourhoods Israel seeks to clear, and that a significant share of those killed were unarmed civilians, including children. Some of the early purchases were funded through private crowdfunding campaigns backed by donors in Israel and the United States before the army began ordering the drones in bulk. Autel said it had no knowledge its products were being weaponised, while the Israel Defense Forces did not respond to detailed questions from the outlets. UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who has documented corporate links to the Gaza war, said the findings underscore how civilian technologies are being rapidly converted for lethal use.