Israeli army struggles to counter Hezbollah’s fiber-optic drones: Report

Israel is still searching for effective ways to counter Hezbollah’s increasingly sophisticated drones in southern Lebanon, Israeli media reported Saturday, as the group’s fiber-optic unmanned aircraft continue posing a growing challenge to Israeli forces.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN quoted an unnamed military official who said the army recently introduced “smart targeting systems” into southern Lebanon in an attempt to improve its ability to track and intercept the drones.

The report added that hundreds of “Dagger” night-vision scopes had also been distributed to Israeli soldiers to improve the accuracy of fire against moving targets during nighttime operations.

Hezbollah’s fiber-optic drones have emerged as one of the Israeli army’s main operational challenges in southern Lebanon due to the difficulty of detecting and intercepting them, according to the broadcaster.

The report said the drones have continued targeting Israeli troops and military vehicles amid Israeli violations and incursions in southern Lebanon, while Israel still lacks a reliable solution to confront them.

In late April, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that Hezbollah missiles and drones represented “two major threats” and urged military commanders to find ways to counter them.

Despite the ceasefire in place since April 17, which was later extended until mid-May, the Israeli army continues daily strikes in Lebanon and exchange of fire with Hezbollah.

Israel’s attacks on Lebanon since March 2, soon after the Iran war began in late February, have killed more than 2,700 people and displaced over 1 million. It also maintains a so-called “buffer zone” on Lebanese territory. The US is again hosting peace talks between the two countries on May 14-15 in Washington.