By Palestine Chronicle Editors
This is what we know: A Hezbollah drone fired a missile targeting the dining hall of the Binyamina military training camp, located south of Haifa.
Numbers vary. Some estimates have put the number of Israeli soldiers wounded by a Hezbollah drone attack targeting an Israeli military base near Haifa at 67. Others say 70, including many who are critically or seriously wounded. At the time of writing this article, the exact and final number remains unknown.
Also, the number of dead varied. Israeli sources now say that three soldiers were killed, thus lowering the original number, which put the death toll to at least 15.
While the number of dead was lowered, the number of those critically wounded, or clinically dead according to some sources, has increased significantly.
Whatever the tally is, today is certainly one of the bloodiest days for the Israeli army in northern Israel and south Lebanon.
What We Know So Far
This is what we know: A Hezbollah drone fired a missile targeting the dining hall of the Binyamina military training camp, located south of Haifa.
Then, the drone itself turned into a weapon, as it also dove directly into the exact same spot, maximizing the number of Israeli military casualties.
The chaotic scenes quickly made their way to social media, and despite a strict military gag order, the news spread quickly.
The military tried to regain control over the narrative, but it was a case of too little too late. Israeli medical sources said that at least 50 ambulances rushed to the scene, and the chaos at the entrances to emergency rooms at Israeli hospitals was filmed live on Israeli media channels.
Not only have Israeli defenses failed to intercept the drone, but they did not even attempt to do so, raising many questions.
Scenes from the dining hall at the Binyamina training camp. pic.twitter.com/yTyWpB3mef
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) October 13, 2024
These questions were added to already unanswered questions from previous incidents, where Israeli defenses failed to intercept, or were not activated in the first place to shoot down drones, rockets or missiles fired from Lebanon.
Some analysts are saying that Hezbollah is managing to deceive the Israeli defense system. Others say that the system itself is faulted, as the October 1 attack by Iran has demonstrated.
But there are also questions about the Hezbollah drone used in the attack. Israeli media analysts suggest that the drone is Russian, while others say it is Iranian.
Hezbollah has not revealed anything aside from issuing the following statement:
“We carried out on the evening of Sunday 13-10-2024, the operation of launching a squadron of attack drones on a training camp for the Golani Brigade in Binyamina, south of Haifa.”
Speaking of statements, Hezbollah also revealed that its fighters have attacked many Israeli military bases, blocking various infiltration attempts into south Lebanon, and carrying out more precise strikes, targeting Israeli military encampments.
ISRAELI ARMY RADIO (citing source): Hezbollah has succeeded in deceiving the air defense system and launched a barrage of missiles to cover up the drones that had struck a training base in Binyamina, south of Haifa. pic.twitter.com/RkYB8inhRD
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) October 13, 2024
One of these statements urged Israelis to evacuate civilian areas which are being used by the Israeli military as meeting points and for other military purposes.
“The Israeli enemy army is using settler homes in some settlements in northern occupied Palestine as gathering points for its officers and soldiers, and its military bases directing the aggression against Lebanon are located within settlement neighborhoods in major occupied cities like Haifa, Tabariyya, Akka, and others,” Hezbollah said on Saturday, adding:
“These homes and military bases are targets for the Islamic Resistance’s missile and air forces, and we warn settlers to stay away from these military gatherings for their safety until further notice.”
What Can We Learn from This?
The Israeli army said that it is opening an investigation into the matter.
A preliminary probe, according to Israeli media, concluded the following: two drones penetrated the Israeli air space from the sea, one was shot down but the other managed to make its way to the target.
The investigation said that Israeli helicopters tried to shoot down the drone but failed.
But this did in fact take place, or is it simply a belated reassurance to the Israeli public that the military commands some kind of control?
We have no reason to believe the military’s version of the events, for several reasons:
One, the military narrative regarding the war, whether in Gaza or in Lebanon, has been largely situated on falsehoods and outright fabrications.
Two, most Israeli media sources say that no air defenses were at work when the drone hit its target.
Three, no sirens were heard in the area, despite the fact that the Israeli military’s preliminary probe confirmed their prior knowledge of the drone’s infiltration.
But there is something else to be learned here: Hezbollah is in control of the battlefield.
Just shortly before Hezbollah carried out its operation, and many other operations in the north, the Israeli military was bragging about its ability to downgrade the Lebanese resistance capabilities through previous strikes.
What has taken place today, and the high casualty toll, suggest otherwise.
In fact, according to Israeli media, not only did Hezbollah have precise knowledge of the location of the Israeli military camp, but chose the precise timing for it, knowing that soldiers would be meeting at a fixed time and at a fixed place in the dining hall.
Despite Israeli military reassurances, the conversation in Israel now is not only confined to Hezbollah’s effective, in fact powerful arsenal, but to their effective and powerful intelligence as well.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah released footage collected from a reconnaissance mission which was carried out by the group’s famous Hudhud. Was the attack on Binyamina an outcome of that mission? This is a question that Benjamin Netanyahu, or rather Binyamin Netanyahu, must be addressing at the moment.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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