The drone was first spotted above the Mediterranean Sea in the area of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to the west of Israel, said military spokeswoman Avital Leibovich. Once it crossed into Israeli air space, it was escorted by air force jets.

At about 10 a.m. (0700 GMT), after it traveled east some 35 miles across Israel’s southern Negev desert, the drone was shot down above a forest in an unpopulated area near the border with the occupied West Bank, she said.