Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group yesterday said that it is entering a new phase in its fight against invading Israeli troops.
The group has introduced new weapons over the past few days, it said in a statement from its operations room.
Hezbollah’s fighters have used new types of precision-guided missiles and explosive drones for the first time, it said.
Photo: Reuters
The statement appears to refer to a drone laden with explosives that evaded Israel’s multilayered air-defense system and slammed into a mess hall at a military training camp in Israel, killing four soldiers and wounding dozens.
The group also announced earlier this week that it fired a new type of missile called Qader 2 toward the suburbs of Tel Aviv.
Hezbollah’s air defense units this week shot down two Israeli Hermes 450 drones, it said.
Hezbollah said its fighters are working according to “plans prepared in advance” to battle invading Israeli troops in several parts of south Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Hamas had not directly responded to an Israeli announcement that top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had been killed in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza the previous day.
Israel is mistaken if it “believes that killing our leaders means the end of our movement and the struggle of the Palestinian people,” Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim said.
“Hamas each time became stronger and more popular, and these leaders became an icon for future generations to continue the journey towards a free Palestine,” Naim said.
It is “painful and distressing to lose beloved people, especially extraordinary leaders,” but the Palestinian militant group is sure it will be “eventually victorious,” he said.
When asked if the statement was a confirmation of Sinwar’s death, Naim said it was not.
Many, from the governments of Israeli allies to residents of Gaza, expressed hope that Sinwar’s death would pave the way for an end to the war, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech announcing the killing: “Our war is not yet ended.”
The China Coast Guard yesterday said it had “expelled” a Japanese ship from waters around the Diaoyutais (釣魚台). The uninhabited islands — which are known as the Senkakus in Japan — are claimed by Taipei and Beijing, but are administered by Tokyo. China Coast Guard spokesman Liu Dejun (劉德軍) said that a Japanese fishing vessel had “illegally entered territorial waters” around the islands from Tuesday to Wednesday. The coast guard “took necessary control measures in accordance with the law, warned [the ship] and expelled it,” Liu said in an online statement. “The Diaoyu and affiliated islands are China’s inherent territory and we urge the
RISK REMAINS: An official said that with the US presidential elections so close, it is unclear if China would hold war games or keep its reaction to angry words The Ministry of National Defense said it was “on alert” as it detected a Chinese aircraft carrier group to Taiwan’s south yesterday amid concerns in Taiwan about the possibility of a new round of Chinese war games. The ministry said in a statement that a Chinese navy group led by the carrier Liaoning had entered waters near the Bashi Channel, which connects the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and separates Taiwan from the Philippines. It said the carrier group was expected to enter the Western Pacific. The military is keeping a close watch on developments and “exercising an
RESILIENCE: Once the system is operational, there would be no need to worry about the risks posed by disasters or other emergencies on communication systems, an official said Taiwan would have 24-hour access to low Earth orbit satellites by the end of this month through service provided by Eutelsat OneWeb as part of the nation’s effort to enhance signal resilience, a Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) official said yesterday. Earlier this year the Ministry of Digital Affairs, which partnered with Chunghwa Telecom on a two-year project to boost signal resilience throughout the nation, said it reached a milestone when it made contact with OneWeb’s satellites half of the time. It expects to have the capability to maintain constant contact with the satellites and have nationwide coverage by the end
The military detected a record 153 Chinese military aircraft around the nation, the Ministry of National Defense announced today, after China held a day of large-scale drills yesterday. The aircraft were spotted in the 25-hour period until 6am today, the ministry said in a statement — the most for a single day. Beijing deployed fighter jets, drones, warships and coast guard boats to encircle Taiwan yesterday, with Taiwan responding by dispatching "appropriate forces" and placing its outlying islands on heightened alert. The ministry typically records the numbers of Chinese warplanes and warships operating around Taiwan in 24-hour periods from 6am to 6am the