Just weeks after Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah published the first drone-recorded footage of Israel’s military installations, a second high-definition drone footage has appeared online as the risk of escalation and full-blown war loom large.

On July 9, the Hezbollah militant group (allegedly backed by Iran) published drone footage showing sensitive Israeli military facilities and infrastructure sites at Golan Heights, which falls under Israeli administration.

The drone footage contains images and coordinates of sensitive military targets inside Northern Israel. It has been widely shared on social media and among active military groups on messaging apps like Telegram. As per some reports, the approximately 10-minute video was captured by drone(s) flying over Israeli intelligence bases, command centers, and military camps in what is termed as occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

This appears to be the second such operation undertaken by Hezbollah-launched drones. Last month, Hezbollah released a nine-minute and thirty-one-second video recorded from its spy drones over several places in Israel, including the seaport and airport of Haifa.

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The distance between Haifa and the Lebanese border is 27 kilometers, and Hezbollah’s leaders have said their spy drones often fly over Haifa.

The drones that recorded the Israeli facilities are called ‘Hoopoe’ and were responsible for recording the Israeli infrastructure footage in June 2024. It is notable that despite Israel’s multi-layered air defense system in place, these small drones seem to have bypassed the Israeli air defense network once again.

Hezbollah routinely dispatches both surveillance and attack drones into Israel. The spy drones that record Israeli military facilities and collect coordinates assist in strikes later.

The recent footage is significant given that it comes days after the armed group said it launched a drone attack against an Israeli military intelligence base on Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights on July 7.

The group alleged in a statement that the long-range technical and electronic observation post on Mount Hermon in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights was the target of an aerial attack by “swarms of explosive drones.”

In response to this attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a counter-strike on buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. 

The rising tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have fuelled concern of a massive escalation and, perhaps, even a full-scale war. Several countries have evacuated their citizens from Lebanon amid the looming threat of a conflict, and the US Pentagon has warned of a catastrophe.

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In fact, Harrison Mann, a former Defense Intelligence Agency major who left the service owing to US backing for Israel’s assault in Gaza, told the Guardian that the US would become involved in a regional conflict if there was another catastrophic war involving Israel and Lebanon.

Despite the warnings, both sides have remained embroiled in regular firing on one another. On its part, the Hezbollah group has opposed Israel’s bloody campaign against Gaza, which has been termed as a genocide. It recently made a bold statement saying that the Hamas’ attack on Israel was a prelude to Israel’s destruction.

So far, there is no indication that the hostiles will see an end any time soon. Against that backdrop, Hezbollah’s group recording Israel’s sensitive military facilities is being seen as a precursor to blinding Israel by evading Tel Aviv’s cutting-edge surveillance and air defense technology, which has been projected as the best in the world.

Hezbollah Is Blinding Israel, Say Reports

In a recent report, Reuters said it was informed by sources that following the killing of senior commanders in targeted Israeli airstrikes, Hezbollah has resorted to low-tech tactics in an attempt to elude its adversary’s advanced surveillance apparatus.

In what Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, has called a “blinding” campaign against Israel, it has also been using its technology, especially its drones, to research and target Israel’s intelligence-collecting capabilities.

Israel maintains that it has killed several Hezbollah operatives in strikes that were launched to the militant group’s “unprovoked” attacks on Israeli soil in October 2023. According to the IDF, it routinely sends surveillance drones over the border to spy on its enemy and has security cameras and remote sensing devices targeted at Hezbollah hotspots. Israel is believed to be one of the most advanced countries in the world when it comes to electronic eavesdropping, which includes breaking into computers and cell phones.

However, according to the Reuters report, Hezbollah has modified its strategies after recognizing its setbacks. According to two sources, cell phones—which may be used to trace a user’s location—have been outlawed from use in combat zones in favor of more traditional forms of communication, such as pagers and messengers carrying in-person verbal communications.

Hezbollah has also allegedly been employing a private fixed-line communications network that dates back to the early 2000s. An individual familiar with the group’s operations claimed that code phrases are used for weaponry and meeting places in case talks are overheard. According to the source, these are updated almost every day and sent by courier to the units.

The group has been promoting its capacity to gather intelligence on adversary targets and launch its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) armament against Israel’s surveillance installations. 

Along with the two videos that the group posted, Hezbollah also released another video that featured aerial photos that it said it had taken of the enormous Israeli observation balloon known as Sky Dew the day before a drone struck it on May 15.

Although these details could not be independently verified, EurAsian Times understands that there is widespread evidence and claims on social media that allude to evolving combat strategies within Hezbollah’s ranks.

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