12 IDF soldiers wounded in Hezbollah strike in northern Israel

Hezbollah suspected of using new drone system capable of evading Israel’s electronic warfare systems in attack on northern Israeli town.

By World Israel News Staff

Twelve IDF soldiers were wounded Thursday morning when a suicide drone launched by Hezbollah terrorists struck the northern Israeli town of Shomera, near the Lebanese frontier.

Two of the soldiers were moderately wounded and 10 others were lightly wounded. Soldiers from the IDF’s ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade, who were operating in the area, helped evacuate the wounded from the scene.

The drone hit an armored vehicle, setting it on fire and causing several ammunition shells at the site to explode, the report said. Firefighters worked for hours to bring the flames under control.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it struck an Israeli self-propelled howitzer with an explosive-laden drone. The IDF confirmed that a Hezbollah drone struck near Shomera and said the incident was under investigation.

Hezbollah also claimed on Thursday that it shot down an IDF drone over southern Lebanon using a surface-to-air missile.

Israeli reports said the military is examining whether the drone used in the attack on Shomera was guided by fiber-optic cable, a system Hezbollah has so far used mainly inside Lebanon.

If confirmed, Thursday’s attack would mark the first known use of such a drone inside Israeli territory.

Fiber-optic drones are physically connected to their operators by a thin cable, making them difficult to detect or disrupt with electronic warfare systems, which Israel has used to foil drone attacks in the past.

Israeli media reports say Hezbollah has expanded its use of the relatively cheap drones as an alternative to longer-range missiles and anti-tank weapons.

The strike came during a deadly week on the northern front.

Since Sunday, two people have been killed in Hezbollah drone attacks: Sgt. Idan Fuchs, a combat soldier in the IDF’s 77th Battalion, and Amer Hujirat, who worked for a contracting company.