Military expert Brigadier General Elias Hanna said that Hezbollah’s bombing of the city of Haifa, north of Israel, “is a turning point and a strategic decision, not a tactical one,” in response to Israel’s targeting of civilians in Lebanon.
Hanna explained to Al Jazeera that Hezbollah had previously targeted military bases and installations in Haifa, most notably the Ramat David Air Base, but the new bombing “affected civilian areas, which means they have entered the targeting circle.”
Hanna – a retired brigadier general from the Lebanese army – stated that the bombing indicates that Hezbollah has regained its balance, coinciding with the anniversary of October 7, 2023.
He expressed his conviction that the party has a dynamic, command-and-control system south of the Blue Line, unlike what is happening in the southern suburb of Beirut.
The Blue Line is 120 kilometers long, and was drawn by the United Nations in 2000 between Lebanon, Israel, and the occupied Golan to verify the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon.
Hanna asked about the location of the missile launch and continued, saying: “If it was launched from the (Imad 4) facility, then Hezbollah’s precision missiles are still present in the tunnels and are able to hide and are difficult to detect,” before answering, “This is a new matter in this case.”
In mid-August, Hezbollah published a video clip entitled “Our Mountains are Our Treasures,” showing a missile launching facility called “Imad 4,” and the missile launchers and military equipment it contains.
At the time, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar website said, “What is striking is the size of the facility, its underground extent, and the messages it conveys to the Israeli enemy that the resistance is ready for all possibilities.”
The military expert believes that Hezbollah has learned how to avoid Israel’s defense system, pointing out that no country is capable of repelling all targets 100%, in addition to the party’s possession of a target bank thanks to the “Hoopoe” videos.
He pointed out that Hezbollah’s statement linked the Lebanon front to the Gaza front in a message stating that it “continues the battle for support, and has the capabilities and means, even if they are not what they were before the assassination of its Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah.”
Hezbollah said that it bombed with missiles the Carmel and Nimra bases south of Haifa and Tiberias, respectively, while the Israeli army announced that 15 missiles were launched from Lebanon towards the Galilee Finger, and some of them were intercepted.
Israeli media, in turn, reported that all attempts to intercept the missiles fired at Haifa failed, and reported that 5 people were injured as a result of a missile that struck a building in Haifa.
