Mentioned repeatedly in the Bible, as well as in other ancient texts, the fortress city of Lachish was one of the most important locales in biblical Israel. Archaeologists have been exploring its ruins since the 1930s, but have only recently discovered a fortified wall that has been dated to the 10th century BCE. The Times of Israel reports:

Yosef Garfinkel, head of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology, announced the find at a conference two weeks ago. . . . The discovery, he argued, bolsters the account in the book of Chronicles of the city during the reign of [Solomon’s son and successor], the 10th-century-BCE king Rehoboam, which says: “And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah: he built even Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, . . . and Lachish, . . . and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.”

“During the Late Bronze Age, Lachish was a very large, grand Canaanite city. Then in the 12th century BCE, it was destroyed, and stood waste for 200 or 250 years,” said Garfinkel. “The big question for research in the city is what happened in Layer 5, [which could date to either the 9th or 10th century]. We found a wall between Layer 6 and Layer 4. Later the excavators reached a floor that stretches to the wall, which could be dated using olive pits found beneath the floors. Samples of the pits were sent to the particle accelerator at Oxford, which ruled that the wall had been built around 920 BCE, which was exactly the reign of Rehoboam.”

A fortress built at this time would suggest that the Judean kingdom had its origins in the 10th century—when David, Solomon, and Rehoboam would have lived—rather than the 9th, as many scholars believe. To some of those scholars, Garfinkel’s claims are not conclusive.

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.