Hezbollah has upper hand in extending range of attacks: Israeli media
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Israeli media analysts say Hezbollah will still have the upper hand in this aspect whether during military escalations or an all-out war.
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An Israeli occupation soldier sets up cameras at a position behind a Hezbollah flag, near the Lebanese southern border village of Mays al-Jabal, Lebanon, December 13, 2018 (AP)
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah targeted the strategic Israeli army's "Meron" air control and surveillance base on Saturday with 62 rockets and missiles.
In a statement, the group announced that the operation was an "initial response" to the Israeli assassination of Hamas' top leader and deputy to the head of the party's politburo Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri and his companions, which took place on Tuesday in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Following the attack, the Israeli occupation army confirmed that the sensitive facility, located 8km from the Lebanese borders, was damaged due to Hezbollah's launches.
Read more: Israeli settlers fear new kind of war with Hezbollah: Washington Post
However, an analyst of Arab affairs for the Israeli Channel 13 described Hezbollah's use of "initial response" in the statement as a "trap", since the Resistance managed to bypass "Israel's" heightened state of alert in anticipation of an attack and extended the range of its operations by striking "Meron".
The Israeli analyst warned that this situation will not be limited to military escalations, stating, "Caution is needed, as even in a comprehensive war, Hezbollah will still have the upper hand in extending the range of the attacks," whether in a response operation similar to that following the assassination of martyr al-Arouri or in taking the strike initiative.
"We are in a trap because, for the past three months, we have been in this fluctuating and somewhat controlled trajectory within the war. During this time, Hezbollah has increased its range (referring to the rockets launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon toward Israeli settlements)."
The "Meron" base is the sole facility responsible for managing and controlling air operations toward Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and Cyprus, as well as the northern part of the eastern Mediterranean Sea basin. Moreover, the base acts as a central hub for electronic warfare interference in the mentioned directions, staffed by a significant number of elite Israeli officers and soldiers.
Read more: Why did Hezbollah strike the Israeli 'Meron' intel, airforce base?
Earlier today, a military affairs analyst for Israeli Channel 14 stated that "Hezbollah's capabilities should worry us greatly, especially after yesterday's operation," noting "the Israeli army is concealing the damage inflicted on Meron."
Israeli media outlets pointed out on Sunday that the Israeli army's "Meron" air control and surveillance airbase was targeted by Hezbollah with an advanced version of Kornet missiles (Kornet EM) with an effective range of up to 10 km.
On that note, the media outlets warned that the Iron Dome, the entity's state-of-the-art anti-air system, is not designed to deal with this type of threat, cautioning that the Israeli army must find solutions to address this issue.
