Hezbollah’s Hoopoe Drone Penetrates Israeli Air Defenses, Snaps High Res Footage of Secret IDF Base
19:19 GMT 25.07.2024 (Updated: 19:27 GMT 25.07.2024)
© Photo : Hezbollah Media UnitScreenshot of footage shot by Hezbollah drone loitering unmolested over a secret Israeli airbase in northern Israel. Video released by Hezbollah's media office.
![Screenshot of footage shot by Hezbollah drone loitering unmolested over a secret Israeli airbase in northern Israel. Video released by Hezbollah's media office. Screenshot of footage shot by Hezbollah drone loitering unmolested over a secret Israeli airbase in northern Israel. Video released by Hezbollah's media office. - Sputnik International, 1920, 25.07.2024](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/07/19/1119507593_0:4:1428:807_1920x0_80_0_0_a85691de120df6615a366ebb03ed3278.png)
© Photo : Hezbollah Media Unit
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Israel has been warning for over two months that it is ready “for a very intense operation” against Hezbollah amid increasingly intense border clashes with the militia. Observers say Hezbollah’s tactics and weaponry are far more sophisticated than those of Hamas, whose fighters the IDF has proven unable to defeat in nine months of intense fighting.
Lebanese political and paramilitary force Hezbollah claimed a major victory in its information warfare campaign against the Israeli Defense Force this week, publishing footage shot from one of its Hoopoe unmanned aerial vehicles operating unmolested in northern Israel, snapping high-resolution video of IDF facilities and assets at a major base.
The footage, released by Hezbollah’s Military Media Unit on Wednesday, shows Hezbollah militiamen operating a large, airplane-style turboprop-powered drone over Israel’s Ramat David Airbase –situated about 20 km southeast of Haifa, about 46 km from the border with Lebanon, in northern Israel.
The footage, shot by the drone’s onboard camera, identified hardened aircraft hangers, support facilities, barracks, command facilities, radar, Iron Dome air defense components, aircraft, helicopters, vehicles and other assets at the base.
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon has released the third episode of the "Hoopoe" series.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 24, 2024
A source from #Hezbollah told #AlMayadeen that this footage, in its entirety, was captured yesterday, on Tuesday, July 23.
The source also said that the timing is linked to Israeli Prime… pic.twitter.com/naB2SBpYCu
The IDF appeared to confirm the authenticity of the footage on Wednesday, assuring that the base’s operations were not affected by the Hezbollah drone’s flyover, and saying the military will continue to work to “neutralize threats” posed by Hezbollah’s aerial capabilities.
A Hezbollah source told Beirut-based satellite news channel Al Mayadeen that the footage was shot on July 23, and that its release Wednesday was “linked” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Washington, sending a “message with clear implications” to Tel Aviv.
The video is the second time in less than two weeks that the militia has released footage of one of its drones freely operating inside Israeli territory. Earlier this month, the group published images captured by a drone of over a dozen strategic Israeli military sites in the occupied Golan Heights, ranging from artillery batteries, HQs and radar sites to Iron Dome platforms, radars and barracks.
Hezbollah’s ‘Hudhud’ (lit. ‘Hoopoe’) drones are named after the Israeli national bird. Media reports suggest the Hudhud is 1.5 meters long, has a 1.9 meter wingspan, an endurance time of up to half an hour, and a cruising speed of about 32 km an hour.
Senior Israeli military sources have told Israeli media that the country’s sophisticated air and missile defense network has had a hard time effectively responding to the Lebanese militia's surveillance and strike drone threat.