For second time, Hezbollah publishes drone footage of military sites in northern Israel
Propaganda clip claims to show intelligence hubs, artillery outposts; former Nasrallah bodyguard purportedly killed in Israeli strike in Syria near Lebanon border
Hezbollah on Tuesday published a new propaganda video featuring drone footage of Israeli military bases and locations in the Golan Heights, as reports alleged that a former bodyguard of terror group chief Hassan Nasrallah had been killed in an Israeli strike on the Lebanon-Syria border.
The video published by the Iran-backed organization was close to 10 minutes in length and followed a similar compilation of footage released last month.
The footage opened with an aerial shot of northern Israel, in which areas including Nahariya, Safed, and Haifa were highlighted, as well as Mount Dov, close to the Lebanon border.
The video featured snapshots of various military outposts in northern Israel, which Hezbollah claimed are used for a variety of purposes, from artillery and air defense batteries to command headquarters. The terror group also highlighted a base that it purported is used by the Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence’s Unit 8200.
The footage released by the Lebanese terror group was believed by the military to have been captured around four or five months ago. This estimate was made based on the fact that patches of snow were visible in some parts of the footage.
Hezbollah claimed that the footage was captured by an unmanned aerial vehicle that entered Israeli airspace, captured the footage, and returned to Lebanon undetected. Israel has not commented on the claim.
In addition to military outposts, the footage also included an image of what Hezbollah claimed were buses used to transport IDF soldiers to their bases.
The Hezbollah terror group has published a new propaganda video showing drone footage of Israeli military bases in the Golan Heights.
The end of the video also shows an Israeli city, which Hezbollah says will be featured in an upcoming clip.
The publication of the footage comes… pic.twitter.com/mi07SymTT3
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 9, 2024
The video ended with what Hezbollah said was a preview of the “next episode” in its series of propaganda footage. That brief clip featured close-up shots of the northern cities of Safed and Tiberias.
Following the video’s release, Hezbollah media relations officer Muhammad Afif said that it sent “a clear message to the enemy and its army.”
“The importance stems from demonstrating our technical and technological capabilities in the field of surveillance and obtaining necessary information we need in times of war,” he added.
In a drone video released last month, the terror group focused on both military and civilian locations, including the Haifa port and a residential neighborhood in nearby Kiryat Yam.
Hezbollah has launched hundreds of drones at Israel amid the ongoing fighting, many of them laden with explosives, but some also used for surveillance purposes.
The skirmishes along the Israel-Lebanon border began on October 8, when Hezbollah-led forces began attacking Israeli communities and military posts in what the group said was a show of support for Gaza amid the war there.
So far, the near-daily clashes have resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 16 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 364 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 65 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.
On Tuesday afternoon, the terror group announced the death of Yasser Qarnabash, in what Lebanese media said was an Israeli strike on the Beirut-Damascus highway, in Syria.
The terror group did not publicize Qarnabash’s role or rank, but multiple Arabic-language outlets suggested he was a former bodyguard of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. According to Al Arabiya, the terror operative was responsible for “transporting personnel and weapons to Syria.”
The purported Israeli strike took place near the Syrian town of as-Saboura, according to the reports.
According to sources cited by Arabic media, two Hezbollah members were killed in the strike, and a Syrian driver was critically wounded.
Supporters of the terror group mourned his death in social media posts, referring to him as the “shield of the Sayyed” — in reference to his ostensible tenure as Nasrallah’s bodyguard.
In a separate incident during the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Syrian state news agency claimed that Israel launched an aerial attack on a site in the vicinity of Baniyas, which resulted in some material losses. Local media alleged that the target was linked to Iran.
The Syrian defense ministry later said there were no casualties in the strike near the Mediterranean coastal city.
In southern Lebanon, the IDF said fighter jets had struck a building in Rab al-Thalathine, where two operatives were spotted after launching rockets at Israel earlier in the day.
Israeli fighter jets struck a building in southern Lebanon's Rab al-Thalathine where two operatives were spotted after launching rockets at Israel earlier today, the IDF says.
According to the IDF, several rockets were launched from Rab al-Thalathine at the Misgav Am area in… pic.twitter.com/TKkj2mN95y
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 9, 2024
Several rockets were said by the IDF to have been launched from the area at Misgav Am in northern Israel, but the majority of them were shot down by air defenses.
A short while after the rocket attack, two Hezbollah operatives were spotted entering a building in the town, the military said. A fighter jet then struck the site.
Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
