Since the IDF liberated Jerusalem from Jordanian occupation—54 years ago Monday, according to the Jewish calendar—the city has been an unceasing source of archaeological discoveries. Among the most recent is a rare bronze oil lamp found in the City of David, which dates to the period between 70 and 135 CE, i.e., the years between the Romans’ destruction of the Second Temple and their complete expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem. Jesse Holth writes:

The lamp was uncovered in the foundations of a building along the pilgrimage road, [used by Jews from outside Jerusalem coming to visit the Temple]. “The offering of this lamp may attest to the importance of the building, which may have been linked to the protection of the Siloam Pool, the city’s primary water source,” the Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists Ari Levy and Yuval Baruch said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to Levy and Baruch, the lamp was buried as a foundation deposit—a symbolic ritual thought to bring protection, fortune, or blessings to the inhabitants.

The lamp appears to depict a bearded man in a grotesque style, common during the Roman period. Such pieces were often decorated with ornate scrollwork and whimsical or fantastical details. . . . The researchers note that this artifact is a particularly rare find because the flax wick is still intact inside the lamp, which is unusual since organic materials tend to degrade over time.

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.