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.



Israeli Military: 5 Soldiers Killed in Combat in South Lebanon

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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Israeli Military: 5 Soldiers Killed in Combat in South Lebanon

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Five Israeli soldiers were killed and 16 others wounded in combat in southern Lebanon in recent weeks, the Israeli military said in a statement on Thursday.

Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a speech aired Wednesday that the Lebanese group is open for ceasefire negotiations only once “the enemy stops its aggression.”

His speech marked the 40-day mourning period since former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in Beirut.

Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,000 people have been killed and some 13,600 wounded in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reported.