Hezbollah Showcases Military Strength with Underground Rocket Launch Footage

The Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah released a video displaying its fighters navigating intricate underground tunnels with rocket-launching trucks. The footage aims to flaunt their military capabilities amidst ongoing conflicts with Israel. The video, purportedly filmed in Lebanon, highlights their readiness and existing missile infrastructure against Israeli threats.

The Iranian-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah on Friday released footage that purportedly shows fighters maneuvering trucks equipped with rocket launchers through clandestine tunnels to an underground launch site. The 4-minute and 35-second video is the latest in a series of releases demonstrating the group's military prowess as it continues its conflict with Israel alongside the Gaza war.

The video captures fighters on motorcycles, using laptops, and driving trucks through rocky passages. Reuters could not verify the video's location or timing. In the closing scene, the doors open to a wooded area, revealing the underground setup as one truck positions its rockets towards the exit.

Titled 'Imad 4,' the video likely references Imad Mughniyeh, a Hezbollah commander assassinated in 2008. Posters of Mughniyeh, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Iran's Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani appear on the tunnel walls.

The footage was followed by an announcement from the Iranian embassy in Beirut, stating that Iran has installed underground missile stations across Lebanon capable of striking Israel. In 2019, Israel claimed to have destroyed Hezbollah attack tunnels that penetrated Israeli territory from Lebanon. Hezbollah leader Nasrallah affirmed that the group has long possessed the capability to enter northern Israel.

Regional tensions have escalated after a recent rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which Israel attributed to Hezbollah. Israel retaliated by killing a high-ranking Hezbollah commander in Beirut's suburbs. Both Hezbollah and Iran have pledged retribution for the murder of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, killed in Tehran.

(With inputs from agencies.)