Journalists and academics often claim that Hamas has achieved and maintained its popularity because of the social services it provides. Yet, as Hillel Frisch demonstrates, while it has indeed provided some basic services, Hamas has consistently degraded the economic wellbeing of the people of Gaza. Moreover, the services administered by Hamas, like sewage treatment and water management, are often administered poorly. There’s more:

According to many human-rights organizations, [a supposed Israeli] “siege” is responsible for an almost perpetual humanitarian crisis in Gaza (an unfathomable assessment in itself, given an average life expectancy in Gaza of over 74 years, which is higher than half the states around the world). Overlooked is the critical role of Hamas and other violent Palestinian organizations in reducing trade between Israel and Gaza, in favor of Egyptian-Gazan trade through tunnel smuggling, which financed these organizations at the expense of the welfare of Gaza’s inhabitants. Essentially, Hamas and other Palestinian violent organizations imposed a siege on Gaza’s inhabitants long before the takeover. . . .

The most prominent [means of discouraging trade with Israel] were the frequent attacks on the Israel-Gaza border crossings, which were manned by Israeli authorities and the PA’s Preventive Security Force. . . . Hamas and other violent organizations sought to divert the trade flow between Israel and Gaza to tunnel smuggling between Egypt and Gaza, which enabled them both to impose fees on others, and to sell smuggled goods that were subsidized in Egypt. . . . [In addition], during the second intifada, Hamas sought to deprive the Palestinian Authority . . . of revenue accrued from the value-added tax that Israel collected on its behalf on goods imported into Gaza through Israel.

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.