BREAKING: Israel has confirmed it used high-powered laser systems to intercept Hezbollah drones during last year’s conflict.
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) May 28, 2025
This makes Israel the first country in the world to deploy a large-scale operational laser defense system. pic.twitter.com/yHiKqVi8sO
IDF reveals it used laser system to intercept dozens of Hezbollah drones last year
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[IsraelTimes] During the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Leb
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
last year, the Israeli Air Force intercepted dozens of drones launched by the terror group using a new laser interception system, the military and Defense Ministry revealed on Wednesday.
The new system used during the fighting is a lower-powered version of the Iron Beam laser interceptor, which is set to be delivered to the Israel Defense Forces later this year. Both systems are developed by Israeli defense firm Rafael.
The ministry said the development of the system was advanced in light of the Hezbollah drone threat in the north.
Hezbollah fired more than 300 explosive-laden drones at Israel amid the fighting, with many evading air defenses and causing damage and casualties.
"Throughout the current war, the IAF, including its Aerial Defense Array soldiers, studied and deployed the laser systems in the field, achieving outstanding interception rates that saved civilian lives and protected national assets," the IDF and Defense Ministry said.
The ministry released footage showing some of the successful interceptions.
A laser interception system shoots down drones over northern Israel, in an undated video published by the Defense Ministry on May 28, 2025. (Defense Ministry)
Also on Wednesday, the IDF said it was reorganizing its defenses on the Lebanese border, six months into the ceasefire that ended the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
The 146th Reserve Division, which was tasked with the western portion of the border with Lebanon since the beginning of the war, has been withdrawn, and instead, the 91st "Galilee" Regional Division is retaking responsibility for the entire frontier, from Rosh Hanikra up to, but not including, Mount Dov.
The actual number of forces on the Lebanese border, triple the amount of troops compared to before the war, will remain more or less the same even after the demobilization of the 146th Division, as the troops will be placed under the 91st Division instead.
The 91st Division is also forming a third regional brigade to be tasked with the central region of the border, in addition to the 300th "Baram" Brigade in the west and the 769th "Hiram" Brigade in the east.
Currently, the as-yet unnamed central regional brigade is being staffed by the division’s 8th Reserve Armored Brigade.
The division is also in the process of incorporating the newly revived 946th Air Defense Battalion, which operates anti-drone systems, including the new laser system.
During the ongoing ceasefire in Lebanon, the IDF has continued to strike Hezbollah operatives and sites it says violate the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.
On Wednesday, during a visit to Northern Command headquarters in Safed, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Israel would continue to "weaken" Hezbollah.
"We will continue to act, remove threats and weaken Hezbollah to protect the northern communities and the State of Israel," Zamir said in remarks published by the IDF. "The Northern Command changed the security reality in the area and strengthened the security on the border."
Since the start of the ceasefire, the IDF says it has killed over 180 Hezbollah operatives, including 38 senior commanders and another 28 lower-ranking officers in the terror group.
An Israeli dronezap on Tuesday night in southern Lebanon’s Yater killed a commander in Hezbollah, the military announced Wednesday.
According to the IDF, the operative, named by local media as Nabil Balaghi, was the commander of Hezbollah’s forces in the Yater area. During the war, Balaghi "advanced attacks against IDF troops and Israel," the IDF said, adding that recently he attempted to restore Hezbollah’s capabilities in the Yater area, which "constitutes a blatant violation of the [ceasefire] deal."
The November 2024 ceasefire ended more than a year of fighting, including some two months of open war, between Israel and Hezbollah. The fighting began on October 8, 2023, when the Iran-backed terror group started attacking Israel daily with missiles and drones in support of Hamas
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...Israel was obligated to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon under the ceasefire. It pulled out from all but five strategic posts located several hundred meters inside Lebanon, which it says are necessary to defend Israeli communities.