TEL AVIV, Israel – One of Israel’s worst casualties in a year of war did not come from a barrage of Iranian missiles or rocket launchers launched by Hamas and Hezbollah. Instead, it was a single drone.
The unmanned plane, which was loaded with explosives, evaded Israel’s multi-particle air defense system and crashed into a dirt hall at a military training camp in central Israel, killing four soldiers and injuring dozens.
It is the latest success of Hezbollah’s drones and sheds light on Israel’s struggle over the past year of war to shoot down drones from as far away as Yemen, Iraq and Iran.
Over the years, Israel has developed its air defense system to provide comprehensive protection against short-range rocket fire and medium- and long-range ballistic missiles, although experts warn that it is not air-tight. While the program has repeatedly brought down drones, many have entered Israeli airspace and stopped defending themselves, in some cases with deadly results.
The drone crossed Israeli airspace unimpeded
On Sunday evening, there were reports of a mass casualty incident 65 kilometers (40 miles) from the Lebanese border. A pilot plane crashed into a hall full of soldiers having dinner, according to Israeli media, killing four soldiers and injuring 67 people.
Minutes earlier, air raid sirens had gone off in northern Israel as a plane flew overhead. But no sirens sounded on the ground, giving the soldiers no warning in advance and indicating that the plane may have fallen on Israel’s radar.
An Israeli security official said Israel is still investigating how the plane managed to escape Israeli air defenses. A pair of drones initially entered Israeli airspace, but while one was shot down, the other continued to target.
Hezbollah, which said the attack was in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, said the plane “managed to penetrate Israeli air defense radars without being detected” and reached its target. It says it outsmarted Israel’s air defenses by launching multiple missiles and “squadrons” of drones at the same time.
It was the second deadly drone strike in just two weeks. Earlier this month, an airstrike launched in Iraq killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded about twenty-two, according to Israeli media. On Friday, during the Jewish holiday, a Hezbollah drone crashed into a nursing home in central Israel, causing damage.
“We already have six people killed in the last ten days by drones. That is too much,” said Ran Kochav, former head of Israel’s air defense.
Drones, he said, “have become a real threat.”
Drones are harder to find and track than rockets or missiles
Drones, or UAVs, are unmanned aerial vehicles that can be operated remotely. Drones can infiltrate, monitor and attack enemy territory more intelligently than missiles and rockets. Israel has a formidable arsenal of drones, capable of espionage and attack. It has developed an aircraft that can reach archenemy Iran, some 1,500 kilometers (1,000 miles) away.
But Israel’s enemies have spied on Israel many times over the past year, often with deadly results. In July, a drone launched from Yemen traveled 270 kilometers (160 miles) from Israel’s southern tip, all the way to Tel Aviv, crashing into a downtown building and killing one person without intercepting it.
An Israeli security official said drones are difficult to detect for a number of reasons: They fly slowly and often consist of plastic parts, with weak thermals and radar systems rather than powerful rockets and missiles. The trajectory is also difficult to follow. Drones can have circling flight paths, can take off from any direction, fly low and – because they are much smaller than rockets – can be mistaken for birds.
The official’s name was not disclosed because the investigation into the hall strike is still ongoing.
Kochav said Israel has spent years focusing on strengthening its air defense systems to improve protection against rockets and missiles. But drones were not seen as a priority. During the current war, that means Israel’s ability to detect and intercept drones has not been as effective as its ability to counter rockets and missiles, Kochav said.
Hezbollah’s drone program receives support from Iran
Hezbollah began using Iranian-made drones after Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 and sent the first Mirsad drone into Israeli territory in 2004. a militant group in Lebanon.
Drones have become an “Iranian-inspired, strategic program” for Hezbollah, according to Tal Beri, research director of the Alma Research and Education Center, a think tank that studies Hezbollah and northern Israel. The terrorist group has begun monitoring and attacking about 1,500 drones since it began attacking Israel in October 2023, according to the group’s statistics.
The attack planes, which Beeri said often attack civilians, carry 10 kilograms (22 lbs) of explosives and can fly hundreds of kilometers (miles). He said that Hezbollah in May used for the first time a drone capable of firing an anti-tank missile and that it may have more.
Hezbollah has also used drones to destroy Israel’s air defense capabilities by hitting the very batteries and infrastructure they are intended to bring down. Earlier this year, Hezbollah said it used an Ababil drone to shoot down a Sky Dew observation balloon in Israel, which is part of its air defense system.
Israel says it is working to combat this threat
On Monday, during a visit to the training camp hit by the drone strike, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant promised to learn from the strike and said Israel was “very focused on efforts to come up with solutions” to deal with the drone threat, without elaborating.
Kochav said there are ways to combat drones that can be explored. The detection capabilities could be expanded to include acoustic radars to pick up drone engine noise or electro-optics, which would allow Israeli surveillance to be seen better. He said rockets, warplanes and helicopters could be deployed to intercept them, and he said electronic warfare could be used to overtake drones and divert them.
“We’ve been busy in recent years … and unmanned (air vehicles) have not been a priority,” he said. “Unfortunately, the results are not good.”
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