In his Yom Hashoah address, Yair Golan, the IDF’s deputy chief of staff, said that he was “frightened” by “signs” of similarities between Israeli society today and “revolting processes that occurred in Europe in general, and particularly in Germany” in the years before World War II. He further called for Yom Hashoah to be a national day of atonement on which to ponder abuses committed by Israeli soldiers. Ruthie Blum responds:

[Golan then made] a not-so-veiled reference to the controversy surrounding the manslaughter indictment of Elor Azaria, who killed a subdued Palestinian terrorist in Hebron on March 24 . . . : “The misuse of weapons . . . has occurred in the history of the IDF since its establishment. The IDF has always taken pride in its ability to investigate difficult events impartially and to take full responsibility for what is good, but also for what is bad and unacceptable.”

Indeed. So where is the need for penitence on Israel’s part? If Golan had an answer, he didn’t offer it. . . . Any calls for a collective mea culpa should have been directed exclusively and forcefully at the individuals and groups abroad who are enabling, supporting, and promoting anti-Semitism—by way of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel at campuses across the West; through old-style Jew-hatred on social media; to the British Labor party, so many of whose members have been spewing the sort of unthinkable vitriol that became taboo in Europe after World War II; and last, but certainly not least, through global jihad committed by radical Islamists within and surrounding Israel’s borders.

It is the job of the IDF brass to combat the last factor for the security of Israel’s citizens, not to imperil us by emboldening those who seek to undermine our very existence. Golan is the one who really ought to be soul-searching right now. . . .

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.