Hezbollah leader announces new weapons and continued pressure on Israel
The leader of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, stated on Saturday that his fighters have introduced new weapons, including a missile with a heavy warhead, in the ongoing conflict along the Lebanon-Israel border. He emphasized that Hezbollah will continue to use this tense frontier to exert pressure on Israel.
Nasrallah also criticized the United States for its role in the Israel-Hamas war, stating that it is the only country capable of stopping Israel’s extensive offensive in the Gaza Strip, but chooses not to do so. He asserted that attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria, which have included over 40 rocket and suicide drone attacks according to Washington, will persist until the war in Gaza comes to an end.
These comments come as tensions along Lebanon’s southern border continue to escalate. On Friday, Hezbollah launched three suicide drones at northern Israel in response to an Israeli strike in central Syria that resulted in the deaths of seven Hezbollah fighters.
Nasrallah did not explicitly claim responsibility for a suicide drone attack that targeted the Israeli Red Sea town of Eilat on Thursday, but he referred to it as “a great achievement.”
Since October 8th, Hezbollah and Israeli troops have been engaging in fire exchanges along the Lebanon-Israel border. This conflict was sparked by Hamas’ deadly assault in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 Israeli civilians and troops, with over 200 taken hostage.
Hezbollah officials argue that their attacks on Israeli posts along the border are keeping three Israeli army divisions occupied at a time when Israeli troops are involved in operations in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, more than 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza over the past five weeks.
Nasrallah stated that the fighting along Lebanon’s southern border has witnessed recent changes, including the use of different weapons and the depth of the strikes inside Israel. He revealed that Hezbollah has been deploying unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance drones into northern Israel, some of which were shot down while others returned to base with valuable information.
On Saturday, Hezbollah claimed to have attacked at least three Israeli posts and an infantry unit on the Israeli side of the border, asserting that they achieved direct hits.
In a separate incident, an Israeli drone strike killed a fighter and wounded two members of the Shiite Muslim Amal group, which is allied with Hezbollah and led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. This marked the first casualty for the Amal group since the conflict began, while Hezbollah has lost nearly 70 fighters in the past five weeks.
Nasrallah announced that on Saturday, Hezbollah used a Burkan rocket against an Israeli military post along the border. He highlighted that this rocket can carry a warhead weighing between 300 kilograms (661 pounds) and 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds), underscoring the destructive impact it can have on Israeli posts.
The Israeli military responded to the attacks from Lebanon by conducting airstrikes on several Hezbollah targets, including infrastructure, military posts, weapons depots, and intelligence infrastructure.
Lebanese media outlets reported that on Friday, Israel’s air force carried out its deepest strike yet since the latest round of fighting began, targeting a truck in the coastal town of Zahrani, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the border.
Regarding the Muslim and Arab summit hosted by Saudi Arabia, which aims to devise a cohesive strategy on Gaza, Nasrallah urged the leaders of the 57 countries in attendance to stand united and demand that the United States cease its aggression, war, and crimes in Gaza.
For more information, visit AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
