In a recent book entitled YHWH Fights for Them!, Charlie Trimm analyzes the use of martial imagery to describe God in the first fifteen chapters of the book of Exodus. Peter Leithart writes in his review:

[Trimm] isolates divine-warrior passages partly by looking for military terminology; even when God is not identified as a “mighty man” (gibbor), he might be carrying on a war by “striking” the Egyptians. . . . God uses the weapons of nature to carry on his war against Pharaoh, and he looks at the “psychological” effects of the divine warrior, especially the panic he strikes in his enemies. . . .

Putting the divine-warrior motif in the context of the exodus narrative demonstrates that God’s is a just war. Trimm runs through the appearances of Egypt in Genesis, showing that it is depicted positively in the main. This [depiction] climaxes with the offer of the land of Goshen to Jacob and his family; Trimm sees in this a sign of God’s intention to bless nations through Israel.

[But] this generosity is in the background when Exodus begins, and we see Pharaoh and indeed all Egypt rejecting God and reneging on the gift of land.

On Tuesday, a Hizballah drone attack injured three people in northern Israel. The next day, another attack, targeting an IDF base, injured eighteen people, six of them seriously, in Arab al-Amshe, also in the north. This second attack involved the simultaneous use of drones carrying explosives and guided antitank missiles. In both cases, the defensive systems that performed so successfully last weekend failed to stop the drones and missiles. Ron Ben-Yishai has a straightforward explanation as to why: the Lebanon-backed terrorist group is getting better at evading Israel defenses. He explains the three basis systems used to pilot these unmanned aircraft, and their practical effects:

These systems allow drones to act similarly to fighter jets, using “dead zones”—areas not visible to radar or other optical detection—to approach targets. They fly low initially, then ascend just before crashing and detonating on the target. The terrain of southern Lebanon is particularly conducive to such attacks.

But this requires skills that the terror group has honed over months of fighting against Israel. The latest attacks involved a large drone capable of carrying over 50 kg (110 lbs.) of explosives. The terrorists have likely analyzed Israel’s alert and interception systems, recognizing that shooting down their drones requires early detection to allow sufficient time for launching interceptors.

The IDF tries to detect any incoming drones on its radar, as it had done prior to the war. Despite Hizballah’s learning curve, the IDF’s technological edge offers an advantage. However, the military must recognize that any measure it takes is quickly observed and analyzed, and even the most effective defenses can be incomplete. The terrain near the Lebanon-Israel border continues to pose a challenge, necessitating technological solutions and significant financial investment.