HEZBOLLAH USING NEW WEAPONS AGAINST ISRAEL

Group says efforts keep some Israeli troops out of Gaza

The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said Saturday 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.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also blasted the United States over the Israelhamas war, saying it is the only country that can stop Israel’s wide offensive on the Gaza Strip but doesn’t do so. He said attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, that Washington says have reached more than 40 rockets and 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 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 and Israeli troops have been exchanging fire along the Lebanonisrael border since Oct. 8, a day after Hamas’ assault in southern Israel that resulted in at least 1,200 Israeli civilians and troops dead and more than 200 hostages taken.

Hezbollah officials say that by attacking Israeli posts along the border, the Iran-backed group is keeping three Israeli army divisions busy at a time when Israeli troops are pushing into the Gaza Strip, where more than 11,000 people have been killed over the past five weeks, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

“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.

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 Shiite 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. Hezbollah has lost nearly 70 fighters during the past five weeks.