Hezbollah says introducing new weapons in fight against Israel
Lebanese group used "Burkan missiles for the first time, says Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, adding the missiles could carry "a payload of 300-500 kilogrammes".
The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group has said his fighters have introduced new weapons, including a missile with a heavy warhead in the ongoing fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border, adding that they will keep using the tense frontier to pressure Israel.
Hassan Nasrallah also blasted the United States over the Israel-Palestine war, saying on Saturday it is the only country that can stop Israel's wide offensive on Gaza but doesn't do so.
He said attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria, that Washington says have reached more than 40 rockets and suicide drone attacks, will continue until the war in Gaza comes to an end.
Nasrallah’s comments came as the situation along Lebanon’s southern border continues to escalate.
Hezbollah on Friday attacked northern Israel with three suicide drones after an Israeli strike in central Syria reportedly killed seven Hezbollah fighters.
Nasrallah did not claim responsibility for a suicide drone attack that hit the Israeli Red Sea town of Eilat on Thursday but called it "a great achievement."
Hezbollah officials say that by attacking Israeli posts along the border, the group is keeping three Israeli army divisions busy at a time when Israeli troops are pushing into Gaza where they have killed more than 11,000 people, mostly civilians, over the past five weeks.
"The side that can stop this aggression, is the side that is managing this aggression. It is America," Nasrallah said, referring to the United States, a main supporter of Israel.
New weapons
Nasrallah said that the fighting along Lebanon's southern border has witnessed changes in recent days, including the weapons used and the depth of the strikes inside Israel.
He said that Hezbollah has been sending unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance drones into northern Israel some of which were shot down while others returned to base with information.
On Saturday Hezbollah said its fighters attacked at least three Israeli posts as well as an infantry unit on the Israeli side of the border, claiming to have scored direct hits.
An Israeli drone strike killed a fighter and wounded two others who are members of the Muslim Amal group of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, according to a statement released by the group that is allied with Hezbollah.
Ali Daoud became the first Amal fighter to be killed in action since the fighting began, while Hezbollah has lost nearly 70 fighters during the past five weeks.
Nasrallah said the group on Saturday used one Burkan rocket against an Israeli military post along the border. He said the rocket can carry a warhead the weights between 300 kilogrammes and 500 kilogrammes.
"You can imagine [what happens] when half a tonne of explosives fall on Israeli posts," Nasrallah said.
Speaking about the Muslim and Arab summit hosted by Saudi Arabia with the aim of devising their own cohesive strategy on Gaza, Nasrallah said the leaders of 57 countries "should stand united and scream in the face of Americans and ask them to stop this aggression, war and crimes" in Gaza.