'Tiny fraction of vast capabilities': Israeli media on Hezbollah video
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Israeli media say the purpose of Hezbollah's latest video "is to pressure Israel into reaching an agreement."
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A screen grab from Hezbollah's video "Our Mountains, Our Strongholds," which features the "Imad 4" facility (Military Media of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon)
Israeli media outlets commented on Hezbollah's recent video revealing its Imad 4 underground missile facility.
In detail, the Israeli news website Kipa stated that "from inside a huge tunnel, Hezbollah continues its psychological warfare, revealing an advanced missile system with a message to Israel."
The Israeli media questioned the absence of any official Israeli response to the footage broadcast by Hezbollah.
"Hezbollah reveals an underground missile city equipped with ready-to-launch missiles, yet Israeli security officials and senior leaders have not officially commented," the site Mivzak Live noted.
The Islamic Resistance in #Lebanon, #Hezbollah, published a new video of a sophisticated underground facility and tunnel network that includes missile launchpads.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) August 16, 2024
The video serves as a clear message to the Israeli occupation amid the growing tension on the Lebanese-#Palestinian… pic.twitter.com/KTSUfhBmfG
It indicated that "this video comes against the backdrop of rising regional tensions and is intended to deter Israel and increase pressure on the international community."
Additionally, Israeli media warned of the footage, emphasizing that the video released by Hezbollah today only reveals a small fraction of its "immense capabilities".
They added that the purpose of the video "is to pressure Israel into reaching an agreement" that imposes no restrictions on the Lebanese group.
One Israeli media platform noted that given that the facility bears the name Imad 4, the Lebanese group likely has at least three other similar underground cities.
On his part, Menachem Kolodetsky, an editor at the Hamadash news website, considered that the "propaganda video released by Hezbollah reveals only a tiny fraction of its immense capabilities and is intended to pressure Israel into closing a reckless deal that would allow Hezbollah to launch an attack on the northern border at a time of its own choice."
'Pay attention to the tunnel network'
Meanwhile, other media outlets described the group's video of its Imad 4 facility as "an exceptional warning from Hezbollah from within the tunnels," adding, "Pay attention to the [Hezbollah] tunnel network."
They highlighted that the missile that appears in the video bears the name "Mughniyeh", which according to Hezbollah, is a precision missile.
"A doomsday weapon?" the Israeli Srugim news website commented on the video, noting that Hezbollah is offering a glimpse into its secret facilities.
On its part, the Yedioth Ahronoth site said that Hezbollah released a new threat video revealing an underground facility with massive tunnels, equipped with computers and lights, spacious and deep enough to allow trucks to pass through easily, along with motorcycles.
Describing the facility and its operational convenience, the news website said, "A long, illuminated labyrinth with numbered trucks moving one after the other without disturbance."
"At the end of the video, a missile launch platform that fires from underground and the facility’s name can be seen," it added.
'An underground city housing Hezbollah’s capabilities'
Yedioth Ahronoth also cited what Al Mayadeen reported regarding the messages conveyed by the video.
It highlights the secrecy surrounding the location of Hezbollah's missile capabilities, with the facility being deep underground, far from hostile intelligence reach, and providing protection against targeting, mentioned the news website.
The Israeli newspaper Maariv highlighted that Hezbollah is revealing its underground city for the first time, with trucks ready to launch missiles.
"In a significant portion of the video, part of the actual tunnel network is revealed, capable of accommodating various vehicles, except for a large passenger plane," another Israeli media outlet commented.
Other media focused on the vast rocky terrain in which the facility was dug, describing Hezbollah's video as "a meticulously produced propaganda piece."
In addition to the missile shown in Hezbollah’s video, branching underground pathways for missile storage can also be seen, an Israeli media platform noted.
Elsewhere, Israeli media considered the appearance of Hezbollah fighters in a vast underground area, with images of the group's chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, martyr Imad Mughniyeh, and the IRGC's Quds Force commander martyr Qassem Soleimani displayed on the walls, as part of a psychological warfare strategy.
'Most explicit video'
In the same vein, Riad Kahwaji, head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, described the latest footage as "the most explicit video Hezbollah has ever released showing the size of its tunnels."
It also showed "for the first time what appeared to be missiles big enough to be ballistic missiles," he told AFP.
Hezbollah likely released the video to "deter" "Israel" from a major operation against it, Kahwaji indicated.
The latest video comes amid Israeli anticipation of the Lebanese Resistance group's response to the assassination of top commander Sayyed Fouad Shokor (Hajj Mohsen).
Read more: Missile cities 'exist throughout Iran': Iranian embassy in Lebanon
