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HEZBOLLAH ISRAEL

Hezbollah drone over Haifa: Why didn't Israel shoot it down?

The Israeli army "know what means" the party used to film the footage, stated Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi. "We are preparing ... to deal with such capabilities."

Hezbollah drone over Haifa: Why didn't Israel shoot it down?

Hezbollah drone filming the Haifa port area. (SS taken from a video shared by Hezbollah's military media on June 18)

BEIRUT —  For the first time since the beginning of the hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel on Oct. 8, the party posted a ten-minute video on Tuesday, taken from a drone, showing strategic civilian and military sites identified as "targets" in Israel.

The drone was named "hudhud" by Hezbollah, the Arabic name for Israel's national bird the "hoopoe," and it reached as far as Haifa, which is 27 km from the Lebanese-Israeli border, without being intercepted by the Israeli air defense. In a speech on Wednesday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah confirmed that the party has "hudhud drones" at its disposal. 

The footage showed the Haifa port area, an industrial site operated by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Israel's government-owned weapons manufacturer, and the area of Krayot which is home to 260,000 people. The video described the strategic importance of the Haifa port area, including the main naval base of the Israeli army in the north and significant commercial port facilities. Around an hour before the release of the video, Hezbollah announced that it would release "important scenes," urging people to "watch and analyze" them, emphasizing their timing with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein's visit and Israeli threats of war against Lebanon.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in daily skirmishes along the Lebanese-Israeli border since Oct. 8, following the start of the Gaza war. Hochstein visited Beirut on Tuesday and met with Lebanese officials as part of his regional de-escalation tour aimed at avoiding a "greater war" between Hezbollah and Israel.

Why didn't Israel shoot it down?

The fact that the drone reached Haifa, filmed the city for some time and then likely returned to Lebanon without being intercepted by Israeli air defenses raised many questions.

Citing the Israeli Air Force, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said that Israeli "air defense systems had identified the drone but decided not to intercept it after recognizing it had no offensive capabilities and fearing a failed interception could endanger residents in the area."

Military expert and former war journalist Elijah Magnier told L'Orient Today he strongly doubted Yedioth Aharonoth's claim. He said that "the drone was sometimes over the sea so it was possible to shoot it down" without endangering residents.

"It is impossible for any army in the world to see an unknown drone that belongs to another country or non-state actor in its airspace and not shoot it down."

"The answer is extremely simple, Israel didn't see the drone ... Israel's system is not perfect, the Iron Dome air defense system and David's Sling military system were both present at the Rafael military complex and Haifa's military infrastructure and they did not fire against the drone," he suggested. The David's Sling system is designed to intercept planes, drones and missiles. 

Citing Yedioth Ahronoth, Lebanese broadcaster MTV reported that the Israeli Defense Ministry issued a blank cheque to defense industries to find a solution to Hezbollah's drones, adding that security assessments indicate that within three months a technological solution to intercept them is likely to be reached.

According to MTV, despite all attempts, Israel "admits it will not be able to fully intercept the drones."

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Hezbollah releases drone footage of Haifa harbor

What kind of drone is able to carry such a mission?

Security and military analyst Brig. Gen. Charles Abi Nader told the pro-Hezbollah broadcaster al-Mayadeen that "Hezbollah likely used an Iranian-made Hudhud 3 drone, which is an electric aircraft with no thermal or acoustic footprint."

"The Hudhud 3 drone can carry a variety of cameras ... has a maximum speed of 70 kilometers per hour and can fly for more than an hour," he added. Abi Nader said that the drone, as it turns out, is "a very advanced aircraft" that has "entered the heartland of Israeli military capabilities."

Magnier told L'Orient Today that the"Hudhud" drone used is very well-known and that Iran has it in its arsenal. He did not detail which generation of this type of drone could have been used. He also said that it is clear from the video that different footage was taken and put together, which means that it was not only one drone that captured everything.

Meanwhile, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Hezbollah launched "three drones in total, one was intercepted, another disappeared from radar and is believed to have crashed into the sea and the third completed its reconnaissance mission." The aircraft was a "small, unarmed device equipped with a GoPro camera," it added.

Hezbollah's message

According to Elijah Magnier, through these images, Hezbollah sent a message to Israel saying that if Israel insists on waging war against Lebanon, the targets featured in the video are the ones that will be attacked by the party. According to the military expert, the inclusion of civilian facilities in the video "will make Israelis question whether starting a war against Lebanon is a good idea."

Military and strategic expert Naji Malaeb explained to the Qatari media outlet al-Araby that "what Hezbollah has done is a form of psychological warfare against Israel, its soldiers, and the inhabitants of the North." 

BEIRUT —  For the first time since the beginning of the hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel on Oct. 8, the party posted a ten-minute video on Tuesday, taken from a drone, showing strategic civilian and military sites identified as "targets" in Israel.The drone was named "hudhud" by Hezbollah, the Arabic name for Israel's national bird the "hoopoe," and it reached as far as Haifa,...