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Majdal Zoun tunnel raid
Israeli forces destroyed Hezbollah’s underground “drone fortress” in southern Lebanon after uncovering a major arsenal beneath the town of Majdal Zoun near the Israeli border, with the complex blown up Sunday in a massive IDF demolition.
The site was located beneath Majdal Zoun and had been assessed by Air Force intelligence nearly two years earlier as inactive and empty of weapons, but when combat engineers from Yahalom entered the complex they found a large underground tunnel network with command rooms, weapons depots, dozens of Iranian-made drones, and large quantities of ammunition.
The underground route stretched more than 200 meters and reached a depth of more than 25 meters, and troops found four horizontal launch shafts aimed directly toward Israeli territory along with 12 rooms prepared for extended stays.
The IDF said more than 20 Hezbollah terrorists were killed during the operation, including about 10 members of Radwan Force, and the explosion was heard clearly in communities across northern Israel.
The decision to send troops into the compound was made only recently as 36th Division forces advanced toward Majdal Zoun, after IDF’s 36th Division had earlier recommended action during Operation Northern Arrows.
Drone war and countermeasures
As Hezbollah’s fiber-optic FPV drones cruise undetected over the skies of southern Lebanon and northern Israel, CNN describes them as bypassing Israel’s defense systems by duplicating an asymmetric warfare tactic that first emerged in the Russia-Ukraine war.
CNN reports that at least 12 Israeli soldiers have been killed by Hezbollah’s drones since the conflict reignited in March, and it says the drones are extremely difficult to detect because they do not emit any radio signals due to a spool carrying miles of thin, fiber-optic cable tethering the drones to their pilot.
Israeli military chief of staff Eyal Zamir said last month, “The drone threat is a challenge, but we will overcome it,” adding that “operational and technological solutions” are being developed and implemented.
CNN also says the IDF began by deploying hundreds of thousands of square meters of mesh netting and providing soldiers with shotguns and fragmenting rounds, while it launched an appeal to private tech and defense companies to develop and deploy effective countermeasures.
In parallel, Reuters via Al-Television Al-Arabi says Betzalel Maklis, CEO of Elbit Systems, told Reuters that his company is developing equipment to counter Hezbollah’s explosive-laden suicide drones, including potentially “energy-powered weapons” such as lasers.
Study warns of collapse
An Israeli research report submitted to the Israeli security establishment warned that explosive drones used by Hezbollah could become one of the most prominent threats facing the Israeli army on the northern border, and it predicted that “without fundamental solutions, the current defense system of the Israeli army is likely to collapse.”
The report, published by Channel 12, said it was prepared in November 2024 by a research center affiliated with the Institute for Counterterrorism (ICT) at Reichman University, led by Dr. Uzi Landau, former head of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
It said small drones loaded with explosives have become among the most dangerous threats facing the Israeli army in southern Lebanon and on the domestic front due to low cost, difficulty of detection, and the ability to fly at low altitudes and operate in swarms, including some using optical fibers that make jamming or disabling them extremely difficult.
According to estimates cited in the report, Hezbollah runs a network of about 100 operatives in southern Lebanon and has launched roughly 160 drones toward Israeli forces, including about 90 drones directly connected to the operator.
The report also warned that drones equipped with optical fibers are just one example of rapid evolution, and it described the expected emergence of a more advanced generation of roaming drones led by the Russian Lancet, with a range of about 40 kilometers and a warhead that relies on the Kornet anti-tank missile.
