The Iran-backed terrorists of Hezbollah, long noted for their ability to conceal rocket launchers in civilian areas and launch huge swarms of missiles at Israeli civilians, are reportedly developing increasing proficiency with drones, and using them to launch more carefully targeted attacks against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
Mounir Shehadeh, a retired Lebanese Army general, told The National on Wednesday that drones are “not new to Hezbollah,” but they have recently become “an almost daily took in combat, not just a secondary weapon.”
Shehadeh said Hezbollah is using cheap mass-produced drones to inflict “continues attrition” against Israeli forces, in a “transition from general heavy fire to precision fire and strategic attrition.”
WATCH — President Trump: Israel Will Be “Surgical” as It Defends Itself from Hezbollah:
Drones are more affordable than missiles and Hezbollah can scrounge up drones from providers other than Iran, which might have trouble sending missiles to its Lebanese proxies for a while. Hezbollah’s missiles are notoriously inaccurate — which is not a problem when launching swarms of rockets at soft civilian targets — while drones are precise enough to be used against active military forces.
Hezbollah also appears to favor drones over rockets for these harassment attacks because drones have cameras, and the terrorist group delights in uploading footage of Israeli troops getting hit by explosive-laden kamikaze drones.
The National quoted a Hezbollah official saying their strategy involves “striking fear and heavy loss in enemy infantry, since the Israeli soldier considers himself protected to the maximum by all kinds of heavy artillery, air force and the tanks it uses.”
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use a precise and “surgical” approach against Hezbollah.
“I told Netanyahu he has got to do it more surgically. Not knock down buildings. He can’t do it. It is too terrible and makes Israel look bad,” Trump said.
A woman holds a portrait of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a protest outside Iran’s embassy, where dozens of people gathered waving Hezbollah and Iranian flags in solidarity with the Islamic Republic, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Trump blamed Hezbollah and Iran for inflicting great misery upon Lebanon and hoped Lebanon might “make a comeback” once Hezbollah has been neutralized.
“When Iran gets taken out, Hezbollah automatically gets taken out,” he said.
The Trump administration would very much like the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to take a leading role in neutralizing Hezbollah, rather than Israel’s stated goal of permanently occupying part of Southern Lebanon to create a “buffer zone” and conducting a protracted military campaign to hunt Hezbollah down.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that America stands by Israel’s right to defend itself but believes the ultimate solution would be “a Lebanese Armed Forces with the capability to go after and disarm and dismantle Hezbollah inside of their country.”
Rubio said the U.S. wants to make this possible by providing carefully vetted LAF units with “the training, the equipment, and the capability to go after elements of Hizballah and dismantle them so Israel doesn’t have to do it.”
The secretary of state noted that Israel is at war with Hezbollah, not Lebanon, and hoped Shiite Muslims in Lebanon might join Sunni Muslims and Christians in realizing that “Hezbollah has been a nightmare for us.”
“There should be one government, one armed forces inside of Lebanon, and it should belong to the Lebanese Government. And that’s who we should be empowering,” he said.
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