As the IDF continues to struggle to fully counter Hezbollah’s explosive drones, a threat that has already taken a heavy toll, signs point to Israel preparing additional operations and moves along the northern border as fighting in Lebanon continues.
According to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the political leadership and the military have already approved plans for the continuation of the campaign. Against the backdrop of a possible agreement with Iran that could also include a ceasefire in Lebanon, Northern Command hopes it will receive enough time to carry out those plans.
IDF strikes Hezbollah terrorists
(Video: IDF)
For now, Israeli forces operating along the area between the border and the so-called yellow line continue to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure, including with heavy engineering equipment. Recently, several pieces of machinery were pulled back from activity, and contractors were instructed that most of the work would be carried out at night because of the drone threat.
The result is that the pace of demolishing structures and clearing the area has slowed.
Hezbollah, for its part, is launching drones in an effort to delay IDF activity and the demolition of villages, a process that is painful for the group in the eyes of Lebanon’s Shiite public.
What had once been viewed by combat forces as a tactical threat has, after a series of incidents and the realization that it is changing how troops operate, become a strategic one.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has shifted toward organized drone attacks. After gathering intelligence and conducting surveillance, the group concentrates its efforts on one area where Israeli soldiers are operating and launches several drones toward it, sometimes simultaneously and sometimes one after another.
Day by day, Hezbollah is improving its use of explosive drones and forcing IDF troops on the ground into a difficult contest against the threat.
The political echelon did not expect the campaign in Lebanon to develop this way when Israel launched its deep maneuver one day after the start of Operation Roaring Lion. Nor was the situation created by the de facto ceasefire on the ground, which has limited the IDF’s freedom of action, expected.
Northern Command is now facing uncertainty over what comes next. But senior IDF officials say they will insist on keeping the area between the border and the yellow line as demilitarized as possible, and will not allow Hezbollah operatives to rebuild terror infrastructure the military has destroyed.
The drone threat has already exacted a heavy price. On Monday morning, the IDF cleared for publication that Sgt. Nehoray Leizer, 19, from Eilat, a soldier in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion of the 401st Brigade, was killed Sunday by an explosive drone strike. Another soldier was seriously wounded in the incident.