In a press conference on Saturday, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah, declared that his fighters had deployed new weapons, including a missile equipped with a heavy warhead, in the ongoing conflict along the Lebanon-Israel border. Nasrallah asserted that the militant group would persist in using the volatile frontier to exert pressure on Israel.
Hezbollah's leader criticized the United States for its role in the Israel-Hamas conflict, arguing that the U.S. possesses the capability to halt Israel's extensive offensive in the Gaza Strip but refrains from doing so. Nasrallah linked the ongoing attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria to the continuation of the war in Gaza, vowing that such assaults would persist until the conflict in Gaza concludes.
The situation along Lebanon's southern border has been steadily escalating, with Hezbollah launching three suicide drones into northern Israel on Friday following an Israeli strike in central Syria that resulted in the death of seven Hezbollah fighters. Nasrallah did not explicitly claim responsibility for a Thursday drone attack on the Israeli Red Sea town of Eilat but hailed it as a "great achievement."
Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been engaged in cross-border clashes since October 8, triggered by Hamas' deadly assault in southern Israel. Hezbollah officials claim that by attacking Israeli positions along the border, the Iran-backed group is diverting attention from the ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza.
Nasrallah highlighted recent changes in the conflict dynamics, including the types of weapons employed and the depth of strikes inside Israel. He disclosed that Hezbollah has been deploying unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance drones into northern Israel, some of which were intercepted, while others returned with valuable information. On Saturday, Hezbollah claimed to have attacked three Israeli posts and an infantry unit on the Israeli side of the border, boasting of direct hits.
A fighter from the Shiite Muslim Amal group, allied with Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli drone strike, marking the first casualty from Amal since the conflict began. Nasrallah revealed that Hezbollah used a Burkan rocket against an Israeli military post, capable of carrying a warhead weighing between 300 and 500 kilograms.
In response to Hezbollah's actions, the Israeli military reported striking multiple Hezbollah targets, including infrastructure, military posts, weapons depots, and intelligence facilities. Israel's air force conducted a deep strike in the coastal town of Zahrani, approximately 40 kilometers north of the border, on Friday, according to Lebanese media.
Nasrallah also commented on the Muslim and Arab summit hosted by Saudi Arabia, emphasizing the need for unity among the leaders of 57 countries to demand the cessation of what he described as "aggression, war, and crimes" in Gaza, urging them to confront the United States over its role in the conflict.