Founded by an Arabian cleric in the 18th century, the Wahhabi school seeks to purify Islam through a return to the putative practices and ideas of Muhammad and his earliest followers. Spread assiduously throughout the Muslim world by Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism has more recently been named as centrally responsible for the rise of radical, jihadist Islam. David Andrew Weinberg cautions against exaggerating the sect’s role—groups like Hamas and the various Shiite jihadists supported by Iran are not Wahhabis—while also arguing that it certainly merits its share of the blame:

If terrorism is the result of multiple factors, certainly it is conceivable that Wahhabism is one of them. The brutal Islamic State opted to use Saudi Arabia’s strict textbooks in its schools until 2015. . . European nations that provide the richest IS recruiting grounds have been places like Belgium and Kosovo, where Wahhabi proselytization and relative deprivation collide. . . .

[It’s true] that terrorist recruits sometimes hail from countries where Wahhabi evangelism has been relatively limited, such as Tunisia, Syria, or Iraq. But while Tunisians are reportedly the largest group of foreign fighters in Syria, Saudis are reportedly in second place and sometimes serve in positions of authority for groups like IS. Saudis were also one of the largest contingents of foreign fighters during the U.S. occupation of Iraq. . . .

[Furthermore, while Saudi Arabia] deserves credit for regularly condemning terrorist attacks, its defenders routinely downplay instances when it embraces Wahhabism’s more intolerant strain or the clerics who promote it. Riyadh’s state school textbooks have historically been rife with incitement against Shiites, Christians, Jews, women, LGBT individuals, and the West. According to the State Department, at least some derogatory passages still remain. The books have emerged in over a dozen countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe.

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.