Israeli media revealed new details about the circumstances of the attack that targeted a military building in the Binyamina area south of Haifa. Israeli military analysts and experts said the incident casts doubt on the ability to intercept Hezbollah drones, and that the army is waging a war of brains with Hezbollah.
Military affairs correspondent Itai Blumenthal of Channel 11 said that the two drones that targeted the building in the base arrived via the northern maritime zone, where one of them was intercepted near the city of Nahariya, while the other disappeared from the field of view of Israeli fighters and helicopters just before hitting the building.
Blumenthal confirmed that the drone did not fire missiles, noting that this type of drone is known to the Israeli army and is manufactured in Iran and is available to Hezbollah, which raises further questions about the army’s ability to effectively detect these drones in the current war.
In the same context Nir Dvori, military analyst for Channel 12 said that this incident caused great disappointment, especially since the recent period witnessed some progress in the army’s ability to intercept drones. He added this incident completely turned the picture upside down, and revealed the gaps in the Israeli defense system.
A war of brains
Dvori explained this war of brains is witnessing a continuous development of capabilities on both sides. He added the Israeli army is working to improve its interception capabilities, while Hezbollah continues to develop the low-flying and high-speed techniques of its drones, which makes it more difficult to detect and shoot them down.
For his part Eitan Ben Eliyahu, former commander of the Israeli Air Force, confirmed that there is a war of minds taking place in real time between Hezbollah drone operators and soldiers operating Israeli detection and interception systems.
He described this battle as similar to a computer game, with each side trying to outdo the other in real time.
Yossi Yehoshua, a military affairs analyst for Channel 24 and Yedioth Ahronoth, pointed out that last deadly incident added to a series of injuries sustained by Israeli soldiers in the past two weeks since the start of the ground operations in Lebanon.
He said hundreds of soldiers were injured as a result of the use of anti-tank missiles, mortar shells, and drones by Hezbollah.
A surprise attack on the Golani Brigade training camp, located about 80 kilometers deep in southern Lebanon, Sunday, resulted in the killing of four soldiers and the wounding of 67, including eight in critical condition. The Israeli Army Radio described this attack as the deadliest incident against the army since the start of the current war.
Israeli media reported at the time that the drone fired a missile at the training camp, before crashing into the dining hall inside the camp, where soldiers were eating according to Al Jazeera.