‘Defending from the goal line isn’t enough’: IDF entrenches grip in southern Lebanon |
RAS AL-BAYADA, Lebanon — Israeli flags and razed structures dotted the coastal road in southern Lebanon, as journalists were taken to one of the army’s deepest positions in its new “security zone.”
The tranquillity of the stormy waves crashing into the rocky coast amid a downpour was broken by an alert of a Hezbollah drone attack targeting the Israeli military in the Ras al-Bayada headland, located around eight kilometers (5 miles) north of Israel’s border, and just south of the coastal Lebanese city of Tyre.
“Air Hammer,” the Israel Defense Forces’ code for a drone attack, was heard over the radio. “There’s an enemy drone here,” one soldier said, as reporters were rushed into the lightly armored vehicles that brought us into Lebanon and escorted back to Israel.
Hezbollah later claimed to have targeted several Israeli military vehicles in Ras al-Bayada. The IDF reported that several explosive drones and anti-tank missiles targeted forces across southern Lebanon, but with no injuries caused.
Despite a (somewhat defunct) ceasefire, the troops stationed in southern Lebanon have been dealing with daily Hezbollah attacks, mostly first-person view (FPV) drones, but at times also rocket fire and anti-tank guided missiles.
“It really is a challenge,” said Col. “Aleph,” the commander of the IDF’s 226th........