Hamas has been diverting resources intended for civilian development in Gaza to enhance its military capabilities, including a growing drone program.
Now, with arson-based tactics such as incendiary kites already in use, Israeli defense officials believe Hamas wants to deploy exploding drones to extend its reach further into the country, reports the Investigative Project on Terrorism.
Israel held an emergency cabinet session Sunday after terrorists launched an estimated 200 missiles at Israeli communities on the border. Israel's military responded by hitting dozens of Hamas targets.
According to Palestinian media reports, Israel also deployed three drones to strike Palestinians launching incendiary kites and balloons, wounding three terrorists.
During the cabinet meeting, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman warned Israel has "no intention of tolerating this – not rockets, not kites, not drones – nothing."
Hamas already has deployed several drones to infiltrate Israel and exploited the incidents as propaganda victories, IPT said.
Citing the daily Hebrew-language newspaper Israel Hayom, IPT said Hamas is preparing to mount explosive material on unmanned aerial vehicles to target Israel communities deeper into the country.
Hamas already has been affixing timers to incendiary aerial devices to delay their detonation and maximize damage.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan warned that "we are seeing an obvious trend" and that Hamas operatives "are constantly increasing their kites' range and they are using ‎other airborne devices" which "may even reach Judea ‎and Samaria," also known as the West Bank.
IPT noted Iran has built a fleet of suicide drones for its main terrorist proxies, including Hamas, to assemble and launch kamikaze style attacks.
Hamas maintains an increasingly sophisticated domestic drone program as well.
Israel also faces a drone threat from the Iranian proxy Hezbollah as well as from ISIS and al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria.
And Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has deployed drones into Israeli airspace to test Israel's resolve.