Hezbollah Chief Boasts of Drones

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban/File Photo
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban/File Photo
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Hezbollah Chief Boasts of Drones

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban/File Photo
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban/File Photo

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah revealed Wednesday that his group has been manufacturing military drones in Lebanon and has the technology to turn thousands of missiles in the party’s possession into precision-guided munitions.

“We have the capabilities to transfer missiles that we possess in the thousands into precision-guided missiles,” Nasrallah said.

He added: “We have started manufacturing drones in Lebanon a long time ago. Those who want to buy can fill out an application.”

Nasrallah said Hezbollah has been working on improving its military capabilities, revealing that last summer, Hezbollah fighters conducted the largest training exercise since the group was formed in 1982.

Nasrallah’s comments came in a televised speech during an annual ceremony marking the anniversary of the killing of some of the Iran-backed group's top political and military leaders.

“Should the enemy dare to carry out a certain operation in search of our missiles, it might face an ‘Ansariyeh 2’ operation,” Nasrallah said, referring to Israel’s 1997 botched landing on Ansariyeh’s shore in which 12 of its troops were killed.



Separate Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 4 People in Lebanon

Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
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Separate Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 4 People in Lebanon

Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)

An Israeli drone strike on Thursday hit a car at an army checkpoint in the southern port city of Sidon, killing three people and wounding several others, including Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers, Lebanon’s state news agency and the army said.

The Lebanese army said in a communique that three soldiers and four Malaysian peacekeepers were injured.

The National News Agency said one of the wounded was taken to the hospital while the peacekeepers were treated for minor injuries at the scene of the attack at the northern entrance of Sidon, Lebanon’s third-largest city. There was no immediate information on the identities of those who died.

The UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL said in a statement that a convoy bringing newly-arrived peacekeepers to south Lebanon was passing by when a drone strike took place near it. The strike lightly injured five peacekeepers, it said.
“We remind all actors of their obligation to avoid actions putting peacekeepers or civilians in danger. Differences should be resolved at the negotiating table, not through violence,” the statement said.

A drone strike earlier Thursday hit a car on a main highway just outside Beirut, killing one woman, according to local media.

The attack took place near Araya, where several similar drone strikes have taken place in the past week.