Nearly two years ago (September 17-18, 2024), Lebanon witnessed an attack that stunned even seasoned military observers. Thousands of pagers exploded almost at the same time in what Israel later described as a coordinated strike aimed at Hezbollah. At least 32 people were killed, including two children, and thousands suffered injuries. The way the attack was carried out caught the world’s attention.
Today, things have taken a different turn. Hezbollah is now using a new kind of weapon that is starting to hit Israeli forces on the ground.
This change is driven by a fibre-optic quadcopter drone. It is small, light and easy to move, but its real strength lies in how it is controlled. Unlike regular drones that depend on radio signals, this one is connected to its operator through a physical cable.
That single feature changes how the drone behaves in combat. Without a radio signal, there is nothing for electronic systems to block or track. Israel has long relied on jamming systems to deal with drones, but this type does not respond to those methods.
Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, explained the challenge while talking to CNN. He said that the drones are “immune to communication jamming, and in the absence of an electronic signature, it is also impossible to discover the location from which they were launched”.
A deadly strike caught on camera
On Sunday (May 3), Hezbollah released footage showing how these drones are being used. The video showed Israeli soldiers going about their position without any sign that they had spotted the incoming threat. Moments later, the drone struck.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed that 19-year-old Sergeant Idan Fooks was killed in the attack. Several other soldiers were injured. As a rescue helicopter arrived to evacuate the wounded, more drones were launched in the same area.
According to an Israeli military source who spoke to CNN, the fibre-optic cable connecting the drone to its operator can extend up to 15 kilometres. The cable is extremely thin and light and makes it almost impossible to see. This allows the operator to stay far from the target while watching everything through a live video feed.
Lessons borrowed from battlefield in Ukraine
This technology did not originate in Lebanon. Fibre-optic drones were first used in large numbers during the ongoing war in Ukraine, where Russian forces used them effectively. Moscow later developed it further by connecting the cable to a base unit, which was then connected to the operator.
With Israeli troops operating in southern Lebanon close to Hezbollah positions, these drones have now entered this war as well. They are being used to track and strike Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and parts of northern Israel, both within operational range.
Israel believes Hezbollah gets the base drones from China or Iran. After that, explosives such as grenades are attached to turn them into weapons. The result is a system that is low-cost, hard to detect and capable of hitting specific targets.
Israel’s defences are struggling to keep up
In response, the Israeli military has started using physical barriers such as nets to stop incoming drones, a method that has also been used in Ukraine. The approach offers some level of protection, but it is not perfect.
“It is not foolproof, not as much as we would like,” an IDF official told CNN. The military is working with its intelligence teams to improve countermeasures, but the challenge continues.
“It is a threat that we are still adapting to,” the official said.
