Hezbollah Strikes Sensitive Israeli Base in ‘Largest’ Drone Attack Yet

A source in the Lebanese resistance told Al Jazeera that the Mount Hermon reconnaissance center was hit for the first time since the 1973 war.

Hezbollah launched its largest drone attack against Israel on 7 July, targeting a highly sensitive Israeli reconnaissance center on Mount Hermon, known in Arabic as Jabal al-Sheikh, in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

A source in the Lebanese resistance group told Al Jazeera on Sunday night that the aerial attack on the reconnaissance center in Mount Hermon was the biggest operation carried out by Hezbollah’s air force since 8 October.

The source also confirmed that the site had not been targeted since the 1973 Arab–Israeli war.

“As part of the response to the assassination carried out yesterday by the Israeli enemy in the Bekaa region, the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance launched an aerial attack on Sunday, 07/07/2024 with successive swarms of assault drones on the long-range technical and electronic reconnaissance center in the eastern direction (Eastern Ski Observatory) in Mount Hermon in the occupied Syrian Golan,” Hezbollah said in a statement earlier on Sunday evening.

The operation “led to the destruction of the targeted devices and the outbreak of large fire around them,” Hezbollah added.

The attack took place less than an hour after Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, threatened the Lebanese resistance during an operational assessment on Mount Hermon. Speaking to soldiers, Gallant vowed to continue fighting Hezbollah even if a ceasefire takes effect in Gaza.

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Hezbollah launched several other attacks against Israeli sites on 7 July. Shortly before announcing the drone attack on Mount Hermon, the Lebanese resistance said it launched rockets at the headquarters of the Israeli army’s 91^st Division in the Ayelet Barracks and military sites around the Liman settlement in the Galilee.

Among the other targets struck by Hezbollah on Sunday was the Nimra base west of the city of Tiberias. This marked one of Hezbollah’s deepest attacks on Israeli territory.

At least four Israelis were injured as a result of the strikes, including two in serious condition.

Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported on Saturday evening that an Israeli airstrike hit a car on the Baalbek–Al-Qaa highway in northeast Lebanon. Israeli army radio reported the killing of a member of the resistance’s group’s engineering unit.

Hezbollah announced later that night that Maytham Mustafa al-Attar “rose as a martyr on the road to Jerusalem.”

The new assassination came just days after Israel assassinated the commander of Hezbollah’s Aziz Unit, Mohammed Naame Nasser, on 3 July.

Hezbollah fired over 200 missiles and about two dozen drones at military bases in northern Israel on 4 July in retaliation for the targeted assassination.

(The Cradle)