BEIRUT: Hezbollahreleased footage of what it says are anti-ship missiles of the kind it used 13years ago against Israel before marking on Friday its self-declared"victory" in the 2006 war. Israel has fought several conflictsagainst the Iran-backed Hezbollah, the last in 2006. More than 1,200 Lebanese,mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, the majority soldiers, diedduring the last conflict but many in Israel consider the war a failure asHezbollah was not defeated.
Since 2006,Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that the Shiite group maintains anarsenal of several hundred long-range missiles that could be used to targetIsrael. On Thursday night, a series of videos on Hezbollah-run media purportedto show at least five anti-ship missiles stored inside metallic containers inan unknown location. Hezbollah's logo could be seen printed on the warheads.
It was not clearwhen the footage was filmed. A Hezbollah naval commander, identified as HajJalal, told Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV on Thursday that the anti-ship missiles areof the same kind used in a 2006 attack on one of the Israeli navy's topwarships, the INS Hanit. The warship was struck off the coast of Beirut in July2006, killing four soldiers and causing extensive damage to the corvette. Itwas the first direct strike on an Israeli warship in decades and Hezbollahcelebrated it as among its biggest victories of the 34-day war.
An investigationfound that the missile hit because officials did not believe Hezbollah had suchsophisticated technology and so didn't turn on anti-missile systems. OnThursday, Hezbollah released what it said are videos of the 2006 missileattack. One clip purported to show men dressed in Hezbollah uniform trackingthe Israeli warship using a radar. It also purported to show a truck-mountedlauncher firing two anti-ship missiles, that were filmed streaking through thenight sky. Shortly after, the video showsa distant blaze.
In the years sincethe 2006 war, the discovery of offshore gas fields in Israeli waters hasprompted investment in new warships to protect non-moving gas platforms. HajJalal on Thursday told Al-Manar that an anti-ship arsenal is significant toHezbollah because the "sea serves as an economic lung for the Zionistenemy." He mentioned "offshoregas fields, some of which are still being explored." "A threat at seais a threat to Israel's national security," said Haj Jalal, whose face wasblurred during the interview, a common security measure by the Shiite group.
On Friday,Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah gave a televised speech as the movement markedthe anniversary of what it called its military "victory" in BintJbeil in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border. He said that the 2006 warhas helped Hezbollah develop "a military system to defend our villages,towns and cities." "If (Israel) enters southern Lebanon... you willsee a live broadcast of the destruction of Israeli brigades," he warned. -AFP