IDF doubles number of drones in North amid heightened tensions between Israel, Iran, Hezbollah
On Sunday, Army Radio reported that the IDF has doubled the number of drones flying in the North to recognize in real-time any attempted launches at Israeli territory.
In fact, The Jerusalem Post has found that the Army Radio report was exaggerated, and that while the number of drones being used in the North has increased significantly, it has not fully doubled.
The increase comes amid heightened tensions between Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran following the July elimination of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Also, multiple reports indicated by Sunday afternoon that a drone attack had killed two Radwan Hezbollah operatives riding a motorcycle in the town of Taybeh in southern Lebanon, though the IDF had not commented on the incident yet at press time.
Strike on Hezbollah terrorists in the area of Taybeh, August 11, 2024. (credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
For Hezbollah’s part, it fired an anti-tank missile into northern Israel from Lebanon, which crashed into Netua.
The hit caused damage to the community, but no casualties were reported.
Anti-tank missiles seldom trigger alarms, and the IDF has had trouble shooting them down, as well as rockets, due to their low-altitude flight trajectory.
IDF attacks Hezbollah in multiple parts of southern Lebanon
Late Sunday, the IDF attacked Hezbollah in multiple parts of southern Lebanon, and the Lebanese terror group fired multiple rockets into open areas of northern Israel.
Meanwhile, the IDF sent out leaflets calling on the civilians in the Aljalaa area in northern Khan Yunis to evacuate, the military said on Sunday.
The directive follows rocket fire and terrorist activities that were carried out from that area, the IDF added, noting that the military was readying to operate in the area in response.
As such, the IDF stated civilians should evacuate to the adjusted humanitarian area.
The instructions were issued via SMS messages, phone calls, and Arabic media broadcasts, among other things.
IDF’s third invasion of Khan Yunis
This comes amid the IDF’s third invasion of Khan Yunis. Last week, IDF spokesperson in Arabic, Avichai Adraee, called on residents of the area to evacuate certain other areas of Khan Yunis localities, such as the town of Khuza’a, the suburbs of al-Qarara and Bani Suheila, and the Abasan neighborhoods.
The IDF previously invaded Khan Yunis from December 2023-April 2024, and a second time in late July, with the third invasion coming only eight days after the second invasion.
To date, the military has not explained why it reinvaded Khan Yunis so fast after having withdrawn a second time.
In the deep south Rafah area of Gaza, the air force struck and eliminated a terror cell that was identified by IDF observers as it exited a tunnel shaft, the military said on Sunday.
In addition, troops of the IDF’s 98th Division attacked the area from which Gazan terrorists launched rockets on Saturday toward the Gaza border community of Kissufim.
An additional terror cell was eliminated in the Rafah area by troops of the Nahal Brigade in conjunction with the IAF after forces had identified the squad entering a military building in their vicinity.
The military added on Sunday that its aircraft struck some 30 Hamas terror targets throughout Gaza, among which were anti-tank positions, storage facilities, and military buildings.
In Syria
In eastern Syria, an airstrike on a vehicle near the porous border with Iraq killed at least five fighters from pro-Iran units, two security sources in the region told Reuters.
One of the sources said the strike was carried out by a drone but could not specify which military the drone belonged to. The second source said it targeted fighters as they changed shifts at a checkpoint.
Swathes of Syria’s eastern border with Iraq are controlled by armed groups aligned with Iran, and who fought on behalf of Syria’s armed forces throughout the country’s civil war.
They include Iraqi armed groups that also control the Iraqi side of the frontier.
The border is now a smuggling hub, with weapons brought across from Iraq into Syria and other goods flowing into Iraq.
The US and Israel have both carried out strikes in Syria against Iran-aligned factions.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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