Hezbollah Drones Wound 17 Israeli Soldiers in Southern Lebanon, Evacuated to Rambam Medical Center

Israeli soldiers operating in southern Lebanon have been wounded by Hezbollah drones over the past two weeks, and many are being evacuated to Rambam Medical Center in growing numbers.

ynetnews reported that 17 people wounded in Hezbollah drone explosions have been brought to Rambam, including 11 by helicopter, and that 15 soldiers were hospitalized there with five wounded by explosive drones.

Al-Jazeera Net

At Rambam, Dr. Gil Sviri, head of neurosurgery, said, "FPV drones hit forces exposed in the field" and warned that if soldiers are not properly protected, they are wounded.

The Washington Post described Hezbollah’s camera-equipped explosive drones as feeding live video back to operators via a fiber-optic tether to evade detection and traditional signal-jamming defenses, framing them as a new threat in southern Lebanon.

In south Lebanon, Israeli soldiers said netting offers no guarantee of protection against drones, which have claimed the lives of four soldiers, as they described having little to do but duck.

Haaretz quoted an officer correcting a soldier about destruction, saying, "destruction of infrastructure" as the trip to Khiam continued.

An-Nahar

ynetnews quoted a soldier visiting a wounded friend at Rambam saying, "We move with protective gear, vests and helmets, but you don’t know when it will hit you," and described helicopters arriving almost daily with drone casualties.

Another friend told ynetnews that troops had few tools to defend themselves, saying, "There are no instructions for the forces there, no specific directive," and adding that "The fishing net is the only means of protection."

As Israeli forces confront Hezbollah’s drone threat, i24NEWS said the Israeli army will soon begin supplying fighters in Lebanon with hunting rifles to counter weaponized drones, and it estimated the steps will reduce the likelihood of injury by 80%.

i24NEWS added that the initial stockpile of hunting rifles, "originally intended for birds," has already been purchased and that the army is conducting final field tests.

In parallel, i24NEWS said other solutions, including intercepting drones and Spider-Man-type devices, "will not be rolled out in the near future," and it described the operation as expected to take at least several more weeks.

ynetnews reported that defense officials are working to find a solution that can reduce the drone threat within days or weeks, with more than 100 proposals examined and combat teams in southern Lebanon expected to receive new drone-detection kits this week.