Hezbollah evaded Israeli defenses with a drone that killed 4 soldiers, raising uncomfortable questions

An Israeli soldier secures a road after a drone attack that killed four soldiers on October 13, 2024, near Binyamina, Israel. 

Four soldiers were killed and dozens injured in a Hezbollah drone strike on a military base near the Israeli town of Binyamina on Sunday night, with the incoming drone failing to set off an air-defense alert.

In the aftermath, the Israel Defense Forces said that Israel’s military needs to improve its defenses against drone attacks.

The IDF said that the Hezbollah-launched unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, hit the army base in northern Israel at around 7 p.m. local time.

The four soldiers killed in the strike were all 19, according to the IDF.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s national ambulance service, said over 60 people were injured, making it one of the bloodiest strikes in Israel in over a year.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility in a statement on Telegram, saying the target was the Golani Brigade, an elite infantry unit in the IDF that has been deployed to southern Lebanon.

The militant group also boasted that its drones were able to penetrate the Israeli air defense radars undetected.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli military, said in a video statement that the IDF would investigate how the drone was able to strike the army base without triggering a warning.

“The threat of the unnamed aerial vehicle is a threat we have faced since the beginning of the war,” he said.

Since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks, Israel has been targeted by drones from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, as well as a surprise drone strike by the Houthis on Tel Aviv in July, which killed one person and injured 10 others.

In one attack in April, Israel, with international support, was able to successfully intercept the vast majority of the 300 or so drones and missiles Iran launched at Israel.

But Hagari said in Monday’s video address that the IDF needed to provide “better protection,” and said that Israel’s military would learn from Sunday’s drone incident and “improve.”

He went on: “Our duty is to better protect our soldiers and the citizens of Israel.”

Israel’s Iron Dome is highly effective at using radars to detect and intercept short-range rockets fired at the country.

It’s also very expensive. The Tamir missiles fired by the Iron Dome are estimated to cost about $50,000 each.

According to David Tal, a professor of modern Israeli studies at the University of Sussex, despite Israel’s successes with its Iron Dome, the IDF finds it far more challenging to trace and intercept drones.

“Their radar signature is very low, and they can be flown at low altitudes, making them hard to detect,” Tal told B-17.

He added that Israel’s current interception systems are not “well-suited” to deal with drones, though he guesses that the IDF is already working out a solution.

“The Israeli defense industry is developing a laser-based system that could be more effective, and the Vulcan system, capable of rapid, high-volume fire, is also being tested,” he said.

B-17 previously reported that Israel is examining the feasibility of using six-barrel M61 Vulcan cannons to counter drones. The cannons, found on US fighter jets, are capable of firing 6,000 rounds a minute.

However, Tal said that “even if interception methods improve, the challenge of tracking drones will remain.”