Drones evading Israeli defences

As Israel's conflict with Hezbollah and Iran has escalated, it has begun to show a degree of vulnerability.

- Dan Sabbagh

Hezbollah drone evaded Israel's much-vaunted air defences on Sunday and struck a military canteen that was busy with soldiers eating dinner. Four were killed and 58 wounded, seven seriously, at a location 40 miles south of the Israeli-Lebanese boundary.

The drone that hit the canteen of a Golani brigade base near Binyamina appears to have been part of a synchronised attack that allowed it to elude Israel's well-organised air defences. Three drones flew from Lebanon over the Mediterranean, and though they were all spotted, and two shot down, the other was able to reach its target.

Why the third drone got away, eluding fighter jets, helicopters and the Iron Dome defence system, is the subject of an urgent inquiry by the Israel Defense Forces.

Hezbollah has been refining its attack strategy, and timing the drone attack with rockets helped to complicate the picture for the defenders.