A building in which Israeli soldiers are positioned in Bayyada, south Lebanon. Footage filmed by a Hezbollah "suicide drone" on May 10 in south Lebanon. (Credit: Images broadcast by Hezbollah's war media.)
BEIRUT — According to Israeli i24News, Hezbollah carried out a coordinated "large-scale coordinated attack" on Tuesday in which it launched a swarm of drones that targeted a single military site in northern Israel. This attack came after the group launched drones against Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, injuring two of them.
The channel did not identify the location but said the attack was the first coordinated drone attack on a single site inside Israeli territory and was the “largest operation of its kind to date.” I24 interviewed an Israeli soldier who said he was nearby, which indicates the attack was on a military site. An Israeli security source, meanwhile, described it as “the most significant drone attack ever carried out against Israel to date."
The attack reportedly unfolded in two phases. In the first, Hezbollah launched drones simultaneously at Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, injuring two of them — one moderately and the other lightly — as well as against a target in northern Israel. Two drones struck the target, sparking a fire, while the Israeli army “attempted to intercept some of the drones,” according to the channel.
Less than an hour later, Hezbollah launched a second, larger wave towards the same target in Israel. According to the Israeli channel, “several drones hovered over the site for several minutes, in search for the optimal point of impact.” “I saw two drones hit the target; five seconds later, we spotted another one hovering between the buildings, looking for people,” an Israeli soldier said.
Although Israeli sources did not specify the location of the attack, it may be the same series of attacks claimed by Hezbollah on Tuesday on the al-Abbad military site, opposite Houla (Marjayoun). Hezbollah said it struck the site with five suicide drones between 4 and 5 p.m., including one attack targeting a drone-jamming system. During the same period, the group also claimed responsibility for three suicide drone attacks on Israeli positions in southern Lebanon, in Naqoura and Bayyada, in the western sector.
A worrying 'simultaneity' for Israelis
According to an Israeli security source contacted by i24News, the attack raises “concerns” because of the “simultaneity of several drones operating together.” “Even if you manage to intercept two or three, others try to track you,” the source said.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has increasingly used fiber optics FPV suicide drones to target Israeli troops occupying southern Lebanon, modeled on Iranian-made drones used by the Russian army in its war on Ukraine.
They have inflicted high casualties on Israeli ranks, according to Israeli army radio. The Israeli high command has since been trying to find ways to defend against these small, inexpensive and homemade devices, which is capable of circumventing electronic jamming and sophisticated radar systems of the Israeli army, worth several million dollars.
According to recent reports in Haaretz, the Israeli army has deployed nets to capture Hezbollah’s drones.
In an apparent new technique to counter drones, the Israeli army has reportedly placed life-size mannequins dressed as soldiers inside houses and military positions to lure and divert these drones from their intended targets, according to images circulating on social media and reported in recent days by Israeli media.
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