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Hezbollah substantial use of drones marks a first: Israeli media

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
13 Nov 2023 20:56
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Former Israeli military official highlights Hezbollah's wide-ranging family of drones that pose huge challenges to Israeli air defense systems.

Screen Grab from a video published by the Military Media of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, Hezbollah, depicting the launch of a suicide drone at Israeli military outposts (Resistance Military Media)

Israeli media outlets paid special interest to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Hezbollah's operations against the Israeli occupation.

UAVs are the new weapon Hezbollah introduced to confrontations with the Israeli occupation, and the party is looking to test this weapon on a larger scale near the northern border, Israeli Channel 13 reported.

Earlier, Shahar Shochat, Reserve Brigadier General in the Israeli occupation forces and a previous commander of several air defense units said that the ongoing battle between Hezbollah and the Israeli occupation forces marks the first large-scale use of drones.

The former official said that talks are ongoing about a "family of drones that boast a wide range of capabilities, that start from small-sized versions that can carry little weaponry, a small amount of explosives, and can fly for a limited distance, to more advanced [drones] such as the Shahed 136 and others, capable of flying for tens or hundreds of kilometers and carry tens of kilograms of explosive material."

Shochat pointed to the difficulty of detecting and identifying drones by air defense systems, due to several factors, including the fact that "Israel" flies its own drones in the same spaces.

The former military official emphasized that intercepting drones is no less challenging than the initial two stages of detection and identification.

Hezbollah expands scope of confrontation

In November, Hezbollah introduced new weapons from its arsenal in its confrontation with the Israeli occupation forces. This includes the firing of multiple launch rocket systems at "Kiryat Shemona", the use of suicide drones in attacks on Israeli occupation military sites, and the firing of a rocket-assisted charge, dubbed Burqan.

Burqan, which saw heavy use during Hezbollah's fight against terrorism in Syria, was deployed for the first time against Israeli targets. The device carries between 300 to 500 kgs of explosive material and has been improved since its first iteration was put into use in Syria, awarding it a longer effective range of fire.

On November 11, Hezbollah marked its second use of attack drones to target Israeli occupation forces. Initially, the group targeted the "Yiftah Kadesh" barracks, in the occupied Lebanese village of Qadas, with one drone, while the other two targeted the newly established gathering east of "Hatzorit Yehoshua", in the occupied Lebanese village of al-Nabbi Yashouaa.

So far, Hezbollah has not introduced drones carrying large payloads, however, both attacks which occurred on November 2 and 11 were able to bypass Israeli air defense systems and deal direct hits to their targets.