Indian Killer Drones on Way to Israel – Report

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

An Indian company has dispatched Hermes 900 killer drones to Israel to be employed in its genocidal war on the Gaza strip, a report says.

The report, published in early February by the Indian defense-related website Shephard Media, and later picked up by other media, states that the more than 20 Hermes 900 medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAVs were delivered by Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India Ltd to Israel.

The Indian military support for Israel comes at a time when several European countries said that they will not be shipping weapons to Israel due to its killing and wounding of over 100,000 Palestinians. 

Indian Contradictions 

The Indian news website The Wire reported on Monday that the news “has not yet been publicly acknowledged by either Tel Aviv or New Delhi but sources at Adani, communicating off the record as they are not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed to The Wire l(…) that the export had indeed taken place.”

The Wire noted how the big arms export would be contradictory with the Indian government’s “official position seeking an immediate cease-fire”.

According to The Wire, “in 2018, Israel’s Elbit Systems entered into a joint venture with Adani Defence and Aerospace with a 49% share and opened a $15-million facility in Hyderabad to manufacture UAVs for the first time outside of Israel.”

The Shepard Media website reported that they “were delivered with fully assembled carbon composite aerostructures produced at the 50,000 sq. ft Adani facility in Hyderabad.”

According to defense analysts, drones constitute a major pillar of the Israeli army during its ongoing aggression against Gaza, as they are used for intelligence purposes and also to carry out attacks on Palestinian civilians and homes.

The Hermes 900 is the gold standard in the “medium-range, long-endurance” category. It is one of the four killer drones used by Israel.

Dutch Ban

The news comes following the decision by a Dutch court on Monday to ban the delivery of fighter jet parts to Israel. 

The verdict came as the court upheld an appeal from human rights organizations who argued that supplying the parts contributed to “violations of international law by Israel” in its military action in the Gaza Strip.

“The court orders the State to cease all actual export and transit of F-35 parts with final destination Israel within seven days after service of this judgment,” the court stated.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 28,473 Palestinians have been killed, and 68,106 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 8,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all of the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

(The Palestine Chronicle)