Hezbollah has recently shifted to extensive use of explosive drones as a central weapon, in some cases abandoning the familiar rocket fire and anti-tank missile attacks.
The incident yesterday in the village of al-Tayiba, in which soldier Sgt. Idan Fooks was killed and six others were wounded, demonstrated Hezbollah’s ability to strike not only combat forces, but also evacuation teams and rescue helicopters on the ground.
Hezbollah is currently operating a two-tier drone system, at the center of which are fiber-optic drones. Because they do not rely on wireless communication, they cannot be disrupted by IDF jamming systems. These drones are controlled from distances of up to 15 kilometers and carry up to 6 kg of explosives.
The drone operator receives high-quality live video of the entire flight until impact, enabling more precise targeting and posing a significant challenge for the IDF.
Despite Israel being considered a leader in interception technology, criticism of the defense establishment is growing, as widespread use of explosive UAVs has already been seen in the Russia-Ukraine war, along with various countermeasures developed there. During the war, Ukrainians reportedly offered to share practical knowledge with Israel on dealing with drones and UAVs, but the initiative was not implemented.