Hezbollah Drone Attack Kills IDF Reservist Alexander Glovanyov Near Manara

An IDF reservist was killed in a Hezbollah drone attack in northern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday, naming Warrant Officer (res.) Alexander Glovanyov, 47, a driver in the Transport Center’s 6924th Battalion, from Petah Tikva.

“The Hezbollah explosive drones remain one of the most prominent threats that Israel acknowledges it has failed to confront and deal with so far, which has pushed Tel Aviv, according to Israeli media, to hint at expanding ground military operations to face this challenge, despite the ceasefire announced between Israel and Lebanon”

Al-Jazeera Net

The attack took place around 4 p.m. on Sunday, when several explosive-laden drones launched by Hezbollah struck in Israeli territory near Manara, close to the border with Lebanon, and one of the drones killed Glovanyov, according to an IDF probe.

Al-Jazeera Net

Glovanyov was survived by his wife, his 15-year-old son and his eight-month-old daughter, and his mother Flora told the Ynet news site, "We spoke the day before yesterday for the last time. I was afraid of what was happening in the north,".

The Times of Israel also said Glovanyov was the fifth soldier to be killed in southern Lebanon amid the apparent ceasefire, and it reported that three IDF soldiers were lightly injured in another Hezbollah drone attack on Monday in southern Lebanon.

The IDF said an Israeli Air Force helicopter dispatched to evacuate troops wounded in a Hezbollah drone attack got stuck due to a technical malfunction, landed in southern Lebanon, and later took off safely after technicians fixed the issue.

The IDF said it was rushing new defenses to troops operating in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah released video showing FPV drones striking an Iron Dome battery, and it described the challenge posed by cheap, precise unmanned aircraft even against air defense systems.

In the same reporting, the IDF said there is no ceasefire for Israeli forces operating beyond the border and that officials said, “There is no instruction to stop or limit offensive operational activity,” except for restrictions on deep strikes inside Lebanon as diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon are ongoing.

The Jerusalem Post

The Jerusalem Post said Hezbollah released footage on Sunday night of one of its First-Person View (FPV) drones striking an Iron Dome battery on the northern border, and it wrote that there was no public comment from the IDF while unofficially IDF sources could not dispute the video’s authenticity.

The Jerusalem Post also described the FPV drone threat as using special cables and manual operation to outwit jamming and tracking, and it quoted former IDF air defense chief Brig. Gen. (res.) Ran Kochav warning in mid-March that the IDF was doing an inadequate job providing defense for its Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow batteries.

In parallel, TRT World reported that Israel’s public broadcaster KAN quoted an unnamed military official saying the army introduced "smart targeting systems" into southern Lebanon to improve its ability to track and intercept the drones.

As Israel and Lebanon move through diplomatic talks, Israeli media reporting described the drone threat as one of the most prominent challenges Israel acknowledges it has failed to confront, even with a ceasefire announced between Israel and Lebanon.

“Hezbollah Drones Wound 3 Israeli Soldiers as IDF Strikes Scores of Targets in Lebanon A reserve Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier was seriously wounded, and an officer and another reserve soldier were moderately injured Saturday after explosive drones detonated in the Shlomi area near the Lebanese border, as Hezbollah continued launching drones toward Israeli forces and the Israeli military carried out strikes across Lebanon”

The Media Line

Al-Jazeera Net said the Israeli army estimated on Monday the number of Hezbollah’s explosive drone operators at about 100 personnel, claiming to have killed between 5 and 10 of them, and it quoted Army Radio describing targeting them as a "complex operation".

The same source said the radio estimated that the majority of drone operators work from south of the Litani River, outside areas Israel calls the 'Yellow Line,' and it described how the drones rely on a thin fiber optic thread that unwinds gradually from a spool attached to them during flight.

Al-Jazeera Net also quoted Brig. Gen. Hassan Jouni saying that if Israel expands ground operations in Lebanon to search for the drones and their operators, this will make the problem bigger and harder, and it added that he said the Israelis are unable to confront Hezbollah’s drones after they are launched.

In the Times of Israel’s account of the broader campaign, it reported that hours later the IDF issued evacuation warnings for nine villages in southern Lebanon ahead of airstrikes targeting the terror group, with residents of Rihan, Jarjouaa, Kfar Roummane, Nmairiyeh, Arab Salim, Jmaijmeh, Mashgharah, Qellaya, and Harouf instructed to evacuate at least a kilometer away.