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Hezbollah’s Drones: A Key Gamble in the War with Israel

A photo released by Israeli media shows damage to Netanyahu’s house window
A photo released by Israeli media shows damage to Netanyahu’s house window
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Hezbollah’s Drones: A Key Gamble in the War with Israel

A photo released by Israeli media shows damage to Netanyahu’s house window
A photo released by Israeli media shows damage to Netanyahu’s house window

Drones have become Hezbollah's main weapon in its war with Israel. Their importance lies not just in hitting targets, but in some drones’ ability to avoid detection by radar and the Iron Dome defense system.

In contrast, Israel has successfully intercepted most missiles before they reach their targets, according to the Israeli military.

From September 17 to late October, 76 drone launches were recorded, with over 170 drones of different sizes, some reaching up to 145 kilometers into southern Tel Aviv's outskirts.

Israeli media reported that more than 1,200 explosive drones have entered Israel since Hezbollah’s northern offensive last year. The Israeli security forces are still struggling to respond to this “deadly threat.”

Hezbollah has a large fleet of drones, with various types for different tasks. Military expert Brig. Gen. Khalil Helou explains that all of Hezbollah’s drones are Iranian-made, designed for long distances.

They were brought into Lebanon in parts, then assembled and modified to suit the needs of their operations near Israel.

Helou told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hezbollah uses three types of drones.

The first type is the small Hudhud reconnaissance drone, measuring 3.5 meters long with a 5-meter wingspan. It flies at low altitudes, up to 100 kilometers, which allows it to reach Tel Aviv.

The Hudhud is equipped with cameras and data storage and can be programmed to fly over target sites and return to its base in Lebanon. It can also be controlled remotely to adjust its mission.

Helou added that these drones are launched from special airports in Jezzine (southern Lebanon) and Hermel (northern Bekaa), as well as similar facilities in Syria. The drones are wheeled and require runways for takeoff and landing.

This week, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that many drones, especially those used for intelligence, managed to reach Haifa and even go beyond without being detected by Israel’s alert systems while crossing from Lebanon.

The Israeli Air Force did not attempt to intercept them.

Israeli research centers believe the Hudhud drones, recently used to monitor sites in Israel, are among the newest models. These electric drones are silent, have no thermal signature, and can fly up to 70 kilometers per hour.

They can take off and land vertically without a runway and are equipped with high-quality cameras that transmit live footage. Their small size and short radar waves make them hard to detect and track.

Hezbollah has previously released videos showing Hudhud drones filming strategic locations in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and other areas, adding them to a “target bank” for attack drones.

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What to Know about Sudden Gains of the Opposition in Syria's 13-year War and Why it Matters

Fighters seize a Syrian Army tank near the international M5 highway in the area Zarbah which was taken over by anti-government factions on November 29, 2024, as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and allied groups continue their offensive in Syria's northern Aleppo province against government forces. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP)
Fighters seize a Syrian Army tank near the international M5 highway in the area Zarbah which was taken over by anti-government factions on November 29, 2024, as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and allied groups continue their offensive in Syria's northern Aleppo province against government forces. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP)
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What to Know about Sudden Gains of the Opposition in Syria's 13-year War and Why it Matters

Fighters seize a Syrian Army tank near the international M5 highway in the area Zarbah which was taken over by anti-government factions on November 29, 2024, as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and allied groups continue their offensive in Syria's northern Aleppo province against government forces. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP)
Fighters seize a Syrian Army tank near the international M5 highway in the area Zarbah which was taken over by anti-government factions on November 29, 2024, as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and allied groups continue their offensive in Syria's northern Aleppo province against government forces. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP)

The 13-year civil war in Syria has roared back into prominence with a surprise opposition offensive on Aleppo, one of Syria's largest cities and an ancient business hub. The push is among the opposition’s strongest in years in a war whose destabilizing effects have rippled far beyond the country's borders.
It was the first opposition attack on Aleppo since 2016, when a brutal air campaign by Russian warplanes helped Syrian President Bashar Assad retake the northwestern city. Intervention by Russia, Iran and Iranian-allied Hezbollah and other groups has allowed Assad to remain in power, within the 70% of Syria under his control.
The surge in fighting has raised the prospect of another violent front reopening in the Middle East, at a time when US-backed Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both Iranian-allied groups.
Robert Ford, the last-serving US ambassador to Syria, pointed to months of Israeli strikes on Syrian and Hezbollah targets in the area, and to Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon this week, as factors providing Syria’s opposition groups with the opportunity to advance.
Here's a look at some of the key aspects of the new fighting:
Why does the fighting at Aleppo matter? Assad has been at war with opposition forces seeking his overthrow for 13 years, a conflict that's killed an estimated half-million people. Some 6.8 million Syrians have fled the country, a refugee flow that helped change the political map in Europe by fueling anti-immigrant far-right movements.
The roughly 30% of the country not under Assad is controlled by a range of opposition forces and foreign troops. The US has about 900 troops in northeast Syria, far from Aleppo, to guard against a resurgence by the ISIS extremist group. Both the US and Israel conduct occasional strikes in Syria against government forces and Iran-allied militias. Türkiye has forces in Syria as well, and has influence with the broad alliance of opposition forces storming Aleppo.
Coming after years with few sizeable changes in territory between Syria's warring parties, the fighting “has the potential to be really quite, quite consequential and potentially game-changing,” if Syrian government forces prove unable to hold their ground, said Charles Lister, a longtime Syria analyst with the US-based Middle East Institute. Risks include if ISIS fighters see it as an opening, Lister said.
Ford said the fighting in Aleppo would become more broadly destabilizing if it drew Russia and Türkiye— each with its own interests to protect in Syria — into direct heavy fighting against each other. -
What do we know about the group leading the offensive on Aleppo? The US and UN have long designated the opposition force leading the attack at Aleppo — Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known by its initials HTS — as a terrorist organization.
Its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, emerged as the leader of al-Qaeda's Syria branch in 2011, in the first months of Syria's war. His fight was an unwelcome intervention to many in Syria's opposition, who hoped to keep the fight against Assad's brutal rule untainted by violent extremism.
Golani early on claimed responsibility for deadly bombings, pledged to attack Western forces and sent religious police to enforce modest dress by women.
Golani has sought to remake himself in recent years. He renounced his al-Qaeda ties in 2016. He's disbanded his religious police force, cracked down on extremist groups in his territory, and portrayed himself as a protector of other religions. That includes last year allowing the first Christian Mass in the city of Idlib in years.
What's the history of Aleppo in the war? At the crossroads of trade routes and empires for thousands of years, Aleppo is one of the centers of commerce and culture in the Middle East.
Aleppo was home to 2.3 million people before the war. Opposition forces seized the east side of the city in 2012, and it became the proudest symbol of the advance of armed opposition factions.
In 2016, government forces backed by Russian airstrikes laid siege to the city. Russian shells, missiles and crude barrel bombs — fuel canisters or other containers loaded with explosives and metal — methodically leveled neighborhoods. Starving and under siege, the opposition surrendered Aleppo that year.
The Russian military's entry was the turning point in the war, allowing Assad to stay on in the territory he held.
This year, Israeli airstrikes in Aleppo have hit Hezbollah weapons depots and Syrian forces, among other targets, according to an independent monitoring group. Israel rarely acknowledges strikes at Aleppo and other government-held areas of Syria.