An excavation adjacent to the site of the new U.S. embassy in Israel’s capital has uncovered what appears to be a facility for collecting and storing tax revenues, dating to the First Temple period. Amanda Borschel-Dan writes:

Uncovered less than two miles outside of [Jerusalem’s] Old City, the compound is believed by Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists to have served as an administrative center during the reigns of the Judean kings Hezekiah and Menashe (8th century to the middle of the 7th century BCE).

Over 120 jar handles stamped 2,700 years ago with ancient Hebrew seal impressions were discovered at the site, clearly indicating the location’s use as a storage and tax center. . . . Prevalent among the stamped inscriptions is l’melekh, “belonging to the king,” a way of marking that the foodstuffs stored in the jars had been tithed to the Judean ruler.

This trove of . . . seal impressions adds to the over-2,000 similar seals previously discovered at excavations and allows archaeologists to rethink the administrative and tax-collection systems of the kingdom of Judah.

According to the archaeologists, the large number of seal impressions here and at nearby Kibbutz Ramat Rachel shows that much of the kingdom of Judah’s governmental administration took place outside the City of David, at least during the final centuries of the monarchy.

According to the archaeologists, the site [dates] to a period during which the Bible documents tumultuous upheavals, including the Assyrian King Sennacherib’s failed campaign to conquer Jerusalem in the days of King Hezekiah. The artifacts at the site, including the stamped seals, show that taxation likely remained uninterrupted during this period.

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.