In recent days, Hezbollah has repeatedly used fiber optic drones to attack Israeli military forces. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has vowed to crush Hezbollah. The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on multiple Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Monday night, including in the Bekaa Valley.
Even though Israel and Lebanon reached a ceasefire agreement on April 16 with the mediation of the United States, Hezbollah, controlled by Iran, continues to attack Israel. The Israeli military has responded accordingly, and the conflict between the Israeli military and the Hezbollah terrorist organization is ongoing.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has been using “Fiber Optic Drones” to launch attacks on the Israeli military in southern Lebanon and northern Israel. Hezbollah claimed that they launched 8 attacks on Monday, including using drones to attack the Israeli military in Misgav Am in northern Israel.
“Fiber Optic Drones” are weapons widely used in the Russia-Ukraine battlefield. They utilize fiber optic cables for control and image transmission to avoid electronic interference.
The drones are equipped with fiber optic cable reels, containing several kilometers to tens of kilometers of fiber optic cables. The drones continuously release extremely fine fiber optic cables while flying. These cables do not affect flight and are almost undetectable by enemy forces.
In response to this threat, Netanyahu warned in a video statement, “Yes, they (Hezbollah) are indeed attacking us with Fiber Optic Drones. We have a specialized team working on it, and we will soon resolve this issue and retaliate. What we need to do now is to intensify our strikes to crush them.”
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued a warning on X website, urging residents of Lebanon to evacuate before the attacks occur.
“Given Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli Defense Forces are forced to take military action. The IDF has no intention of harming you,” he wrote. “Remaining in the marked areas will put you in danger.”
The Lebanese state news agency NNA reported that after Netanyahu’s statement, there was a wave of evacuations in southern Beirut, the stronghold of Hezbollah. The agency also mentioned that the town of Mashghara in the eastern part of the Bekaa region was hit by multiple airstrikes on Monday night.
Earlier that day, the Israeli military struck the southern village of Kfar Rumman, and the Israeli military stated that they targeted over 70 Hezbollah infrastructure sites as retaliation.
On May 25, an anonymous official from the US State Department revealed to the Associated Press that Hezbollah has repeatedly ignored US ceasefire warnings, including the recent ultimatum. The official emphasized that Israel will not passively endure Hezbollah’s attacks on its military and civilians.
Since the ceasefire took effect, Hezbollah has launched over 1,000 drones and more than 700 rockets in attempts to disrupt negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, stating that the current situation cannot continue.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated in a
declaration
on May 24 that Hezbollah “has ignored multiple requests from the legitimate government of Lebanon to stop attacks and respect the ceasefire agreement.”
“On the contrary, it continues to fire on Israeli positions and move armed personnel and weapons to southern Lebanon,” he said. “This is a deliberate action to destabilize the country at the expense of the future of the Lebanese people.”
Pompeo mentioned that the Beirut government is working diligently “with full US support to provide the Lebanese people with a future of recovery, reconstruction, international aid, and stability,” while Hezbollah actively tries to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction.
Under US law, Hezbollah has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization since 1997.
In April of this year, Lebanon and Israel held talks in Washington, marking the first direct dialogue in over thirty years. Both the US and Israel hope for Lebanon’s government to disarm Hezbollah, but actual progress has been limited.
Senior military officials from Lebanon and Israel will meet at the Pentagon on May 29 to discuss ceasefire agreements and disarmament of Hezbollah.
The US State Department official believes that direct dialogue between Lebanon and Israel, along with significant US support, poses a significant threat to Hezbollah, supported by Iran, challenging Hezbollah’s narrative of “resisting Israel.”
The official stated, “If the Lebanese government successfully leads a ceasefire, Hezbollah will lose power and influence in Lebanon.”
(This article references reports from The Guardian and the Associated Press)