Islamist terrorists rarely make an effort to conceal their religious motivation. But some in the West—prominent politicians, intellectuals, journalists, and others—are ready to conceal it for them, and instead to justify their actions by assigning moral responsibility wholly to the affluent West. Paul Hollander writes:

We are . . . instructed that it is Western governments and societies that radicalized the terrorists—bred terror—by the colonialism of the past, the failure to integrate new immigrants, our refusal to allow them to voice their just grievances, and, finally, our demonization of them for no other reason than their disagreements with us [over such things as] the religiously sanctioned mistreatment of women or the sharia law that justifies stoning female adulterers to death, chopping off the hands of thieves, . . . flogging other criminals, [and] fatwas against the likes of the novelist Salman Rushdie, targeted to be killed as punishment for blasphemy. Presumably all such disagreements should be seen as matters of cultural diversity and tolerated in a good-natured, nonjudgmental manner.

Such explanations . . . suggest that the perpetrators had little choice in the matter. . . . In this scheme, only the powerful, the top dogs and victimizers, are capable of making choices and thus can be held responsible for their actions; the underdogs, the victims, the victimized are not in a position to make morally relevant choices as their behavior is determined by brutal social forces.

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.