Hezbollah Escalates Attacks on Israel, Using Drones and Advanced Weaponry
This week, Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, launched an attack on an Israeli military post using a drone that fired two missiles. The incident resulted in three Israeli soldiers being wounded, one of whom is in serious condition. This marks the first successful missile airstrike Hezbollah has launched from within Israeli airspace in the past seven months.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has escalated its attacks on Israel, particularly in response to the Israeli incursion into Rafah in the Gaza Strip. The group has intensified its attacks, employing new and more advanced weaponry, and striking deeper inside Israeli territory.
Analysts suggest that Hezbollah is using these attacks to send a message to Israel, demonstrating its capabilities and potential to launch further strikes if necessary. The cross-border exchanges of fire have been ongoing since early October, with Hezbollah’s “complex attacks” beginning shortly after Iran’s drone and missile barrage attack on Israel in mid-April.
Hezbollah’s use of drones capable of firing missiles, explosive drones, and the Almas (Diamond) guided missile has raised alarms within the Israeli military. “Hezbollah has been escalating the situation in the north,” said military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani. “They’ve been firing more and more.”
In adapting its tactics, Hezbollah has managed to reduce its losses compared to the early stages of the conflict. While the group has lost over 250 fighters since fighting broke out along the Lebanon-Israel border, Israel has lost 15 troops.
Hezbollah has shifted its tactics, reducing the number of fighters along the border areas to minimize casualties. It has also moved to firing drones and other types of rockets, including the Almas, Falaq, and Burkan rockets, from areas further away from the border.
Over the weekend, Hezbollah announced the launch of a new rocket with a heavy warhead, named Jihad Mughniyeh after a senior operative killed in an Israeli airstrike in Syria in 2015.
Political analyst Eva J. Koulouriotis believes that Hezbollah’s recent escalation has several goals, including increasing its demands in future negotiations for a border deal and pressuring the Israeli military amid preparations for the battle in Rafah.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed to “stand, achieve our goals, hit Hamas, destroy Hezbollah, and bring security” in a recent speech. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, however, reiterated that the fighting will continue until Israel’s military operations in Gaza end.
Nasrallah’s comments have complicated efforts by foreign dignitaries, including those from the US and France, to end the violence that has displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.
A day after Nasrallah’s speech, Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly visited Beirut and called for a cease-fire. Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Naim Kassim, warned Israel against opening an all-out war, citing the group’s success in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
