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.”
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