Hezbollah reveals military muscle in clashes with Israel

BEIRUT:

Hezbollah has gradually revealed its military capabilities in 10 months of cross-border clashes with Israel, analysts say, including footage of purported underground missile facilities released on Friday amid fears of all-out war.

The Lebanese movement, armed and financed by Iran, has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces in support of its ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

Fears of a major escalation skyrocketed after an Israeli strike last month on Beirut's southern suburbs killed Fuad Shukr, one of Hezbollah's top commanders, hours before an attack in Tehran, blamed on Israel, killed Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Since Israel and Hezbollah last went to war in 2006, the pro-Iran militant group has increased its military strength, according to analysts.

On Friday it released a polished video appearing to show its fighters trucking large missiles through tunnels at an underground facility.

Riad Kahwaji, head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, a security consultancy, said it was "the most explicit video Hezbollah has ever released showing the size of its tunnels".

It also showed "for the first time what appeared to be missiles big enough to be ballistic missiles", he told AFP.

Hezbollah likely released the video to "deter" Israel from a major operation against it, he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is "prepared both defensively and offensively" and "determined" to defend itself after the killings of Shukr and Haniyeh.

Pressure has been mounting on Israel to secure a truce that could avert a wider war, in parallel with intensified diplomatic efforts in Lebanon to avoid an escalation.