US jets arrive, Hezbollah drone operators hit, and false alarms rattle the north

As the US sends fighter squadrons to Jordan and Israel braces for escalation, the IDF strikes Hezbollah drone cells and suffers a false-intercept wave.

US jets arrive, Hezbollah drone operators hit, and false alarms rattle the north — This evening, the US began sending dozens of additional fighter jets to the Middle East, with an F-16 squadron landing in Jordan in the past day, according to Kan.[^1] The deployment comes after US Central Command announced yesterday that two American soldiers were killed in an Iranian attack on Jordan.[^2] Separately, the Jordanian army intercepted and destroyed four drones that entered its airspace during Iranian attacks on Middle Eastern states.[^3] On Saturday, July 18, the IDF confirmed that additional US aerial tankers are expected to arrive; ten such aircraft will arrive in Israel within the next day, and some landed at Ovda Airbase.[^4] The presence of American refueling planes at Ben Gurion Airport will cause cancellations of civilian flights, and the Transportation Ministry announced an agreement on July 15 to reduce stationed aircraft from 100 to 20.[^5] Israeli security officials have clarified that in the event of an escalation with Iran, "Security needs will override other considerations."[^4] On the northern front, the Israeli Air Force struck a group of Hezbollah militants operating attack drones in southern Lebanon. The group was detected by troops of the Commando Brigade under the 36th Division after the militants launched an explosive-laden drone toward Israeli forces.[^6] Separately, an IDF reserve officer was moderately injured in an operational accident in southern Lebanon.[^7] Meanwhile, the IDF launched three interceptors due to false identifications: one in Metula this morning, one at a false target in the southern Gaza Strip, and one in southern Lebanon where forces are operating.[^8] The false alarms underscore the heightened alert status as the region waits for a potential Iranian retaliation. Deep underground, Unit S-2 commander Lt. Col. D. described clearing blast doors weighing five and seven tons in Hezbollah tunnels, and revealed that 140 trucks with 84 tons of explosives were inserted in one night into an area swarming with terrorists since October 7.[^9] The tunnel warfare campaign continues even as the political leadership faces a dilemma: IDF