Hezbollah Video Appears to Show its Tunnels, Missiles

Hezbollah members carry flags during the funeral of a fellow fighter. (Reuters)
Hezbollah members carry flags during the funeral of a fellow fighter. (Reuters)
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Hezbollah Video Appears to Show its Tunnels, Missiles

Hezbollah members carry flags during the funeral of a fellow fighter. (Reuters)
Hezbollah members carry flags during the funeral of a fellow fighter. (Reuters)

Lebanon's Hezbollah on Friday released a video showing what appeared to be underground tunnels and large missile launchers, amid fears of all-out war between the Iran-backed group and Israel.

The polished, four-and-a-half minute video shows what appear to be Hezbollah operatives moving through wide, illuminated tunnels hewn into rock, with motorbikes and other vehicles, including a convoy of trucks.

Some trucks appear to be transporting missiles through the facility, which bears a sign reading "Imad 4", an apparent reference to top Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a 2008 Damascus car bombing the group blamed on Israel, AFP reported.

Titled "Our mountains are our storehouses", the video shows a trapdoor opening and a missile launcher directed skyward.

Hezbollah "possesses precision and non-precision missiles along with weapons capabilities so that if Israel imposes a war on Lebanon, Israel will face a destiny and reality it didn't expect any day," its chief Hassan Nasrallah is heard saying -- an excerpt from a 2018 speech.

The group has traded near daily fire with the Israeli army in support of ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war.

But the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran late last month, blamed on Israel, and an Israeli strike that killed a top Hezbollah commander in Lebanon, has sent diplomats scrambling to avert a wider conflict, after Iran and Hezbollah vowed to retaliate.

"Targets are in our possession and the coordinates are in our hands, and these missiles are placed, deployed and focused on targets and in perfect secrecy," Nasrallah says in further audio excerpts subtitled in English and Hebrew.

Hezbollah's weapons, personnel, experience, and determination are "stronger than at any time since its launch in the region", he adds.

Hezbollah has expanded the size and quality of its arsenal since it last fought an all-out war with Israel in 2006.

Experts say the group has a wide range of unguided heavy artillery rockets, ballistic missiles, as well as anti-aircraft, anti-tank and anti-ship missiles.

They have also said Hezbollah likely has an extensive network of underground tunnels in south Lebanon, as well as in the eastern Bekaa valley near the border with Syria.

Mughniyeh is credited with developing Hezbollah's military capabilities, and the group considers him the architect of its "victory" over Israel in 2006.



Syria to Start Currency Swap on January 1st, Central Bank Governor Says

Syrian pounds are pictured inside an exchange currency shop in Azaz, Syria February 3, 2020. Picture taken February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo
Syrian pounds are pictured inside an exchange currency shop in Azaz, Syria February 3, 2020. Picture taken February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo
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Syria to Start Currency Swap on January 1st, Central Bank Governor Says

Syrian pounds are pictured inside an exchange currency shop in Azaz, Syria February 3, 2020. Picture taken February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo
Syrian pounds are pictured inside an exchange currency shop in Azaz, Syria February 3, 2020. Picture taken February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo

Syria will start swapping old banknotes for new ones under a ​plan to replace Assad-era notes starting from January 1, 2026, Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh said on Thursday.

Husrieh announced the introduction of the new Syrian currency, saying the decree "sets January ‌1, 2026, ‌as the start date ‌for ⁠the ​exchange ‌process". Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in August that the country will issue new banknotes, removing two zeros from its currency in an attempt to restore ⁠public confidence in the severely devalued pound.

The ‌step is intended ‍to strengthen ‍the Syrian pound after its purchasing ‍power collapsed to record lows following a 14-year conflict that ended with President Bashar al-Assad's ouster in December.

Husrieh ​said the operation will take place through a smooth and orderly ⁠swap - a move bankers hope will ease fears that the new currency could fuel inflation and further erode the purchasing power of Syrians already reeling from high prices.

He added that a press conference will soon outline the exact regulations and mechanisms.


Türkiye Begins Black Box Analysis of Jet Crash That Killed Libyan Military Chief and 7 Others

Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
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Türkiye Begins Black Box Analysis of Jet Crash That Killed Libyan Military Chief and 7 Others

Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)

The technical analysis of the recovered black boxes from a jet crash that killed eight people, including western Libya’s military chief, began as the investigation proceeded in cooperation with Libyan authorities, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said Thursday.

The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officials and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Türkiye’s capital, Ankara, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

The wreckage was scattered across an area covering 3 square kilometers (more than a square mile), complicating recovery efforts, according to the Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.

A 22-person delegation, including five family members, arrived from Libya early on Wednesday to assist in the investigation.


Lebanese President: We are Determined to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
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Lebanese President: We are Determined to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated on Thursday that the country’s parliamentary elections are a constitutional obligation that must be carried out on time.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency quoted Aoun as saying that he, alongside Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, is determined to hold the elections on schedule.

Aoun also emphasized that diplomatic efforts have continued unabated to keep the specter of war at bay, noting that "things are heading in a positive direction".

The agency also cited Berri reaffirming that the elections will take place as planned, with "no delays, no extensions".

The Lebanese parliamentary elections are scheduled for May next year.