Hezbollah video confirms rocket hit on Iron Dome

Live Updates: Follow the latest Israel-Gaza

Hezbollah apparently confirmed on Thursday that an Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system had been damaged or destroyed.

A video released by the group shows a camera view of a projectile flying into an Israeli outpost and hitting the Iron Dome launch pad before the footage cuts out.

The location shown is the same location as another Iron Dome battery seen in a video released Wednesday. The video shows the area under drone surveillance and artillery attack.

The Israeli army said on Thursday that it was not aware of any damage to its Iron Dome launchers, but later announced that a soldier had been killed in an attack on northern Israel.

Hezbollah now has improved access to sophisticated guided missiles, which it acquires from Iran after being smuggled through Syria.

The attack came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior generals warned of a major ground operation in southern Lebanon following a sharp escalation of violence along the border.

On October 8, one day after the devastating war between Israel and Gaza began, daily clashes between Hezbollah and Israel along the border began. Hezbollah claims it supports Hamas, and rocket and missile fire and Israeli airstrikes are regular occurrences along the Lebanese-Israeli border.

According to an AFP count, around 450 people were killed in Lebanon, including 88 civilians. Israel said 15 soldiers and 11 civilians were killed on its side of the border.

Thursday's video is similar to another released in January showing a television-guided weapons attack on an Israeli electronic warfare and observation outpost.

Television-guided systems allow the missile operator to correct its course based on images sent back to a command and launch unit.

According to defense analyst Joe Truzman, the group used a missile to attack the Iron Dome battery, rather than a disposable attack drone that also sends video feedback to the drone pilot.

Each Iron Dome battery costs about $100 million and consists of three or four launchers. It is the backbone of Israel's short-range air defense system and has shot down thousands of Hamas and Hezbollah rockets and drones.

Taken together, the two videos appear to show a complex attack on the system involving artillery or rocket fire that may have forced response teams to seek cover, allowing the Hezbollah missile to successfully reach its target.

In recent months, Hezbollah has used the Almas anti-tank missile for the first time. It has a TV guidance system. According to the Israeli think tank Alma, the missile is a copied variant of the Israeli Spike missile. Both missiles are suitable for multi-purpose combat and can destroy tanks or other enemy targets such as combat positions.

New anti-tank missiles

Almas and Spike have a “beyond line of sight” capability. With typical anti-tank missiles, the operator must have a line of sight to the target and, in some cases, wait for the missile to impact to assess whether the hit was successful before moving to a safer location.

This can leave the operator in a dangerous position, especially if the target is more than a kilometer away, potentially allowing a counterattack or evasive maneuver.

Some anti-tank missiles have a workaround called “Fire and Forget”, which allows the operator to move after firing the missile, which then independently targets the target.

Almas and Spike represent a new generation of weapons. With the help of their camera-based control, they can fly over hills in an “elevated” trajectory, thus offering the shooter a relatively high level of safety.

Both missiles have a longer range than typical anti-tank guided missiles, reportedly up to 16 km (Almas) and 25 km (Spike). In contrast, the range of typical anti-tank weapons is between 800 meters and 4 km.

Updated: June 6, 2024, 07:05