{"id":25807,"date":"2023-12-04T13:25:07","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T09:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syndicationbureau.com\/?p=25807"},"modified":"2023-12-04T13:27:53","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T09:27:53","slug":"israel-faces-new-front-in-irans-drone-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syndicationbureau.com\/israel-faces-new-front-in-irans-drone-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Faces New Front in Iran\u2019s Drone War"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Since the Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing military campaign in Gaza, Israel has found itself the target of missiles and drones fired by Iranian-backed groups from various points in the Middle East. While there has not been a full-scale escalation from groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the attacks, many of which have been intercepted, have served as a warning of what Israel\u2019s enemies in the region have at their disposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One particular incident marked a notable departure from previous attacks<\/a> on Israel and will be causing increased concern for the country\u2019s security officials. On November 9, a drone launched from Syria<\/a> struck a school in the southern Israeli city of Eilat. The drone managed to hit a target more than 400 kilometers away from the nearest Syrian territory. Previous attacks on Israel from Syria have typically involved mortar shelling across the border confined to unpopulated areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond its remarkable long-distance reach, the drone’s capacity to fly undetected and execute a precise strike suggests the involvement of a well-trained operator. The message conveyed by the attack is equally noteworthy \u2013it demonstrates the capability to target any location in Israel from Syria. Eilat is Israel’s southernmost city and its only port on the country\u2019s sliver of Red Sea coastline. The questions that loom large are: Who was responsible for the attack? and how did they manage to reach the target without triggering alarms from Israel\u2019s sophisticated defense systems?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Israeli military said<\/a> the drone crashed into the school while about 40 students were in the basement. No serious injuries were reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next day, the Israeli army said it had\u00a0responded by targeting<\/a>\u00a0the organization in Syria responsible for launching the drone. However, the statement did not identify the group, and failed to give details about the target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initially, there were suspicions that the attack originated in Yemen<\/a>, after several recent attempted strikes on Israel<\/a> carried out by the Iran-backed Houthis. Examinations<\/a> of the drone fragments indicated that it was most likely an Iranian-made Shahed-101 or a similar model. The Shahed-101 boasts a range<\/a> of up to 700 kilometers. Given that the distance from the Yemeni border to Eilat is nearly 2,000 kilometers, it became clear that the drone must have been launched from a location closer to Israel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Two primary theories continue to circulate regarding the launch location and who was operating the drone. The prevailing assumption is that the drone was launched from<\/a> southern Syria by Hezbollah, or a group linked to it, which has had a large presence there since the Lebanese group backed Bashar Al Assad in the Syrian civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hezbollah announced that seven of its fighters<\/a> were killed on the day of the Eilat drone attack, without disclosing the location of their deaths. However, reports citing a Hezbollah official, among others, acknowledging that they were killed in Syria, added to suspicions that the seven died in Israel\u2019s retaliatory airstrike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If these reports prove accurate, it would tie in with Israeli concerns over Hezbollah\u2019s drone capacity and substantial influence in southern Syria. The absence of official acknowledgment from either party may stem from a shared interest in preventing further escalations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, there is a second theory as to who was responsible. Israeli news website Walla identified<\/a> the elite Iranian-backed Imam Hussein Division as responsible for the attack. The group, also known as the Imam Hussein Brigades, was established<\/a> by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria in 2016 and armed with Iranian-made drones and surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The media outlet, however, did not specify where the attack originated from. Military experts told this writer that while southern Syria remains a potential location, northeast Syria \u2013 Imam Hussein\u2019s stronghold \u2013 is considered a more likely launching point. The considerable distance of northeast Syria from the border with Israel renders it a more strategic launch spot for the drone compared to the southern part of Syria, which is subject to closer monitoring by Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n