Hezbollah Attack Kills Four Israeli Soldiers as U.S. Deploys Troops to Operate Missile Defense System

Hezbollah is degraded, not defeated. Israel is shielded, not impregnable. That is the lesson of the Iran-backed jihadist organization’s aerial attacks in northern Israel on Sunday evening (local time). A drone targeting a military base near the Binyamina area of Israel’s Haifa District killed four Israeli soldiers and wounded dozens of other people — including civilians and military personnel — some critically.

The drone attack occurred under the cover of a barrage of over 100 missiles. While Israeli aerial defenses were effective against the missiles, the drone appears to have eluded detection. The New York Times reports the assessment of Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari: “We are studying and investigating the incident — how a drone infiltrated without warning and struck the base. We must provide better defense.”

Rich and I discussed the security situation on the podcast this week, in the context of reports about Israel’s plans to retaliate directly against Iran for the missile barrage it launched earlier this month. As we noted, Hezbollah has been significantly degraded by Israel’s combat operations over the last few weeks, but it is still a capable, well-armed fighting force. Israel needs to destroy it, just as it must destroy Hamas in Gaza (which it is much closer to doing), because (a) the nearly 100,000 displaced Israelis will not be able to return and rebuild their communities near the Lebanese border as long as the Hezbollah threat remains, and (b) Hezbollah’s capacity to launch massive aerial attacks, using its remaining thousands of Iran-made missiles, rockets, and drones, is among the biggest factors Israel must weigh in deciding how to strike back at Iran.

Two other important developments.

First, it has long been obvious that Hezbollah is able to mount significant attacks against Israel because it is using UNIFIL — the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon — as its shield. UNIFIL was established as a peacekeeping force in 1978; of course, there hasn’t been peace, so the “interim” has lasted 46 years and the mission has changed several times. The common thread throughout that time has been that UNIFIL is utterly ineffective — at best — in enforcing restrictions on Hezbollah. Its presence makes it easier for the jihadists to launch cross-border attacks and harder for Israel to conduct combat operations to destroy Hezbollah’s strongholds. (The Times of Israel reports that 25 rockets and missiles have been fired at Israel in recent weeks from launch points right next to UNIFIL positions.) Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demanding that the U.N. evacuate the UNIFIL troops; thus far, U.N. secretary-general António Guterres is refusing.

Second, the Biden-Harris administration is deploying a THAAD — Terminal High Altitude Area Defense — system in Israel, along with about 100 American troops to operate it. THAAD is a highly advanced missile defense system, it requires American operators, and it is being put in place in order to defend against potential additional Iranian missile attacks.

As we’ve been saying, the war is intensifying.