Israeli media reports suggest that on Sunday two Hezbollah drones, most likely Ziyad 107s, crossed from Lebanese air space above the Mediterranean. One was shot down and the other disappeared – presumed crashed – so no warning siren was triggered. It then went on to hit the canteen of an army base.
But Sarit Zehani from the Alma Research Institute – which specialises in security on the northern border – does not think it was luck that the drones got through.
“It was planned,” she said. “They’ve been trying to do this for a long time.”
Ms Zehani lives 9km from the Lebanese border in western Galilee and saw Sunday’s events unfold from her balcony. She said there was rocket fire and alerts all across the border area as the drones were launched, “overwhelming” the air defence system and helping the drones to get through.
The Alma Research Institute has counted 559 incidents of drones crossing the northern border for surveillance or attack missions since the war began a year ago. Excluding Sunday’s attack on Binyamina, it says there have been 11 casualties from drone attacks.
