While archaeologists can’t yet answer that question with certainty, they have discovered evidence of large-scale commercial chicken farming in ancient Judea during the 4th century BCE—some 200 years before the practice is thought to have reached Europe. Daniel Eisenbud writes:

“The [development of commercial chicken farming] was sharp and fast, and, within a few decades, chickens were [being raised] throughout the Middle East. It seems residents cultivated a new breed of rooster particularly suitable for commercial growth” [according to researchers at the University of Haifa]. The researchers said the findings shed new light on the beginnings of the economic exploitation of chickens, [helping to trace] its rise from the Mediterranean to Europe.

“Hundreds of years of gradual acclimatization of roosters in the southern Mediterranean Levant, along with the gradual adoption of this animal in the Middle Eastern economy, probably created a strain of rooster suitable for economic exploitation,” the researchers concluded. . . .

Chickens were first raised in the Far East and Southeast Asia 8,000 years ago, reaching the Middle East in small pockets 5,000 years later. At that time, the researchers said, the animals were considered exotic, and were primarily used for worship and cockfights.

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.