The book of Lamentations (Eikhah in Hebrew), read in synagogue on Tisha b’Av, consists of five chapters. Four of them are structured as alphabetical acrostics; that is, each verse starts with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet starting with aleph and proceeding in order. In three of these chapters, however, one letter is out of place: the letter peh proceedes ayin—the equivalent of p preceding o. Mitchell First suggests a possible explanation:

In 1976, a potsherd was discovered at Izbet Sartah in Western Samaria, dating to about 1200 BCE. The potsherd had five lines of Hebrew writing on it, one of which was an abecedary (an inscription of the letters of the alphabet in order). In this abecedary, the peh preceded the ayin. There is a scholarly consensus that Izbet Sartah was an Israelite settlement in this period. . . .

[In all other] abecedaries . . . that have [subsequently] been discovered in ancient Israel, dating from the period of the Judges and the First Temple and spanning the letters ayin and peh, peh precedes ayin in every one! . . . [T]hese abecedaries come from different regions in ancient Israel, not merely from one limited area. All of this suggests that peh preceding ayin was the original order in ancient 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.