On Thursday, Hezbollah in Lebanon declared the start of a new chapter in its conflict with Israel and claimed to have fired its first round of precision-guided missiles against Israeli forces.
Since the all-out war broke out on September 23, Israel has been relentlessly bombarding south and east Lebanon, which are Hezbollah’s strongholds.
Following Israel’s ground assault last month, the adversaries have fought close-quarters warfare in border villages in Lebanon.
Hezbollah “announces a transition to a new and escalatory phase in the confrontation with the Israeli enemy, which will be reflected in the developments and events of the coming days,” the group said in a statement.
The announcement followed the Israeli military’s claim on Thursday that it had assassinated Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, an organisation that is allied with Hezbollah.
But the Hamas leader was left out of the statement.
A statement was made stating that “hundreds of fighters…are fully prepared to counter any Israeli ground incursion into southern Lebanese villages,” referring to the recent surge in attacks against Israel.
It stated that “precision-guided ones…being deployed for the first time” are among the rocket strikes that “continue to escalate day by day.”
Israel killed Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in a Beirut air strike On September 27. It has has repeatedly called for Hezbollah to be pushed away from the border to ensure its citizens could return to their homes in northern Israel.
Earlier on Thursday, Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said that the Israeli army was not fully in control of any village in south Lebanon.
