Israel concerned by Hezbollah’s growing air defense power: Report

The Israeli military has expressed concerns about the growing air defense capabilities of Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah in countering the regime’s aerial aggression on Lebanese soil.

The Hebrew-language Maariv daily newspaper reported on Friday that the Israeli military was following with concern “a major change in the concept of air defense by Hezbollah in Lebanon.”

The paper said what worried the regime was Hezbollah’s move to have doubled the amount of air defense systems in its possession over the past five years “in an attempt to restrict the freedom of action of the Israeli air force in Lebanon.”

“The improvement of these capabilities of Hezbollah continues persistently, and this is manifested, according to Israeli estimates, in the availability of these systems for rapid use and pursuant to Nasrallah’s decision,” the Hebrew-language daily said, referring to Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The Israeli military is “following the alarming trend, which is reflected both in the quantities and in the improvement of the capacity and in the change of the strategy.”

The newspaper also said the Israeli security service believes an Israeli drone attack in August 2019 on a facility at the heart of the southern suburbs of Beirut, the stronghold of Hezbollah, was a turning point in Hezbollah’s strategy of starting to shoot down Israeli drones, as promised by Nasrallah at the time.

“In recent years, Israel has damaged these capabilities many times and caused heavy damage, but the trend of improvement in the scope and quality of the weapons systems shows the stubbornness and persistence of … Hezbollah in building its military capabilities.”

Hezbollah leader warns about 'Israel's annihilation'

The leader of Hezbollah says any Israeli act of aggression against the resistance front could lead to a major war in the region.

Last Monday, fighters from the Lebanese resistance movement intercepted and shot down an Israeli drone that was hovering over the southern part of Lebanon in violation of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

In September 2021, Hezbollah said it had separately intercepted and struck an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle as it crossed into Lebanon’s airspace over Maryamin Valley on the outskirts of the southern town of Yater.

Lebanon’s government, Hezbollah, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have repeatedly condemned Israel’s overflights, saying they are in clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the Arab country’s sovereignty.

Marking the 40th anniversary of the foundation of Hezbollah last year, Nasrallah warned that the resistance movement’s precision missiles can hit any Israeli target at sea or on land.

Hezbollah fought off two Israeli wars against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006, forcing a humiliating retreat upon the Tel Aviv regime’s military in both cases.

The resistance movement has vowed to resolutely defend Lebanon in case of any other Israeli-imposed warfare.

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