US daily says 'Israel Caught off guard' by Hezbollah drones

The Israeli air defense systems were "caught off guard" by simple and low-tech drones used by Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement and its allies in the region, an American newspaper reports. 

The Washington Post made the acknowledgement after Hezbollah released a 9-minute video captured by a drone showing strategic locations in the northern part of the occupied territories, including sea and air ports in the city of Haifa.

Hezbollah said its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) returned to Lebanon unimpeded, challenging Israel’s capability to intercept drones.

“Israel received a shock Tuesday when Hezbollah released drone footage …, showing off its drone abilities,” the report said.

“As these unmanned aircraft hit military sites and private homes in Israel, they are also resurfacing debates around the decade-old air defense system, which many worry provides an imperfect shield against Israel’s many enemies — especially as they experiment with new weapons and new ways of using old ones.”

Hezbollah publishes drone surveillance footage of key Israeli sites in Haifa

The nearly 10-minute video was gathered from a surveillance aircraft of key locations in the northern city of Haifa.

Onn Fenig, the CEO of R2, an Israeli signal processing and machine learning start-up, said the drone footage was probably the latest in a string of similar cases, adding that it was made public only because “people actually saw it in the sky,” and because Hezbollah publicized it as a piece of psychological warfare.

“Many times, Israel’s enemies challenge it with low-tech, or no-tech,” said Liran Entebbe, a researcher of the link between technology and defense at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies.

'Israel hasn't found way to deal with Hezbollah drones'

Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an article on Hezbollah’s success in challenging the occupation's air defense system.

It said Hezbollah - thanks to the technology and precise weapons it possesses – “has turned into a smart army with neat capabilities that enable it to collect intelligence and carry out attacks in a way that threatens the Israeli army and vital infrastructure.”

“The Israeli army still has not found the [right] way to deal with the threat of [Hezbollah's] drones,” which are “wreaking great destruction in the north, crushing the sense of security of tens of thousands of settlers, who are scared to return,” it added.

Haaretz stressed that Hezbollah’s capabilities have put Israel’s ability to confront in “desperate straits.”

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging deadly fire since early October, shortly after the regime launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a surprise operation by the Palestinian Hamas resistance group.

Hezbollah has vowed to keep up its retaliatory attacks as long as the Tel Aviv regime continues its Gaza onslaught, which has so far killed at least 37,431 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 85,653 others.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk