Reports from those who have recently fled the Gaza Strip indicate that the situation there is growing increasingly dire—the fruit of nearly a decade of Hamas rule. Now, writes Alex Fishman, there is reason to fear not only another war with Israel, but complete social and political collapse:

In Israel, we often see the infrastructure crisis in Gaza—electricity and water shortages and broken sewage systems. But that only scratches the surface: Gazan society has started to disintegrate.

The number of suicides has reached unprecedented levels. The number of instances of murder within the family has grown: for instance, . . . women are stabbing their unemployed husbands. . . . There has been an increase in drug use, as well as crime in general and prostitution in particular. [There are also increasingly frequent instances] of teenage [girls] marrying much older men who are able to support them as a second or third wife. On the other hand, . . . young people aren’t getting married, and the average age of marriage is rising.

Several people in Gaza have already set themselves on fire in protest. In Tunis, such actions led to the Arab Spring. Gaza is also starting to flare up. While it is true that the population is religious, traditional, and more willing to accept its fate [than many other Arab societies], the pot is still about to boil over.

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.