Drone Attack on Israeli Base: How Did Hezbollah UAVs Breach Israel’s Famed Air-defense Systems?

Hezbollah’s drone strike near Haifa that killed four soldiers bypassed Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system and early warning systems to execute a pin-point strike on the military base.

Hezbollah said on Sunday it fired "a squadron of attack drones" on an Israeli training camp in the northern occupied territories.

The Israeli army is investigating why no sirens were sounded, according to Israeli newspaper, Haaretz.

Israel’s national emergency medical service said at least four Israeli soldiers were killed and at least 61 others  injured in the drone strike on the military base for the Golani Brigade in Binyamina south of Haifa.

Hezbollah has not released any information on the type or the number of drones involved in the strike except to indicate a “squadron” of attack drones were deployed.

Hebollah has in the past launched drones at Israeli targets by none of its strikes were as successful at the Sunday night’s strike. 

Some reports in Hebollah aligned media said the drones resemble the Yemeni Sammad-4 UAV, which can carry two missiles under its wings. The fast moving drone is said to fly under the radar and launch missiles at its target.

However, what is different in Sunday’s strike is the way the drone struck with pin point accuracy on the cafeteria of the base where a large number of soldiers had gathered. The precision strike on the Israeli base has surprised many as much as the inability of Israeli air defense to detect the drone barrage.