Hezbollah released a new video on Friday showing a large tunnel complex where it stores rockets. The video was released two weeks after Hezbollah announced it would step up its attacks on Israel in response to the killing of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr last month.
The new video shows a tunnel complex called Imad 4. It is not clear where it is located, and Hezbollah claims the location is secret and has not been discovered by any “foreign” intelligence agency.
The pro-Iranian media outlet Al-Mayadeen describes the site as “a sophisticated underground facility with an extensive network of tunnels, complete with missile launch pads.” The tunnels are large enough for trucks and vehicles to drive through them. There are blast doors.
The pro-Iranian report speaks of a “state-of-the-art technical system and a secure communications network that connects it to the outside world and enables it to receive launch orders within minutes. It also adds that the network’s communications are highly encrypted for additional security.”
Hezbollah is now releasing this video in the context of its threats to increase attacks on Israel. The group has already launched 7,500 rockets and 200 drone attacks against the Jewish state since October 2023.
It is not as if Hezbollah has not already revealed some of its capabilities. However, the terrorist group is keeping a low profile, revealing its capabilities slowly and showing only a portion of what it has.
That is the message of the video: it is a warning shot across Israel’s bow. Jerusalem has preferred to respond precisely and proportionately to Hezbollah attacks during the ten-month conflict. Israel has evacuated around 60,000 people from the north, including 14,000 children. In response to Hezbollah’s attacks, around 410 of its members were killed. This is in contrast to estimates of 17,000 Hamas members killed in Gaza.
Why reveal the arsenal now?
Hezbollah claims that the new underground facility it unveiled has its own construction, security and backup launch teams. “These teams operate based on pre-determined coordinates for launch operations.”
In addition, “according to exclusive sources, the facility is equipped with a field hospital and enough supplies to sustain the inmates for a period of eight months to a year,” claims Al-Mayadeen. Hezbollah allegedly has other facilities like this one that house larger rockets. It also has precision-guided munitions.
Hezbollah’s main point is that it has these capabilities and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Iran has demonstrated similar underground missile and drone sites in the past.
Iran is clearly advising Hezbollah on how to build these facilities, and the two adversaries of Israel are sharing details they have learned. Hezbollah has already learned a lot in the ten months of conflict with the Jewish state.
The group believes it is on the road to victory because it controls the time and place of attacks and the pace of operations. For example, Hezbollah claimed to have attacked the Israeli community of Shamir on August 15, expanding the scope of its attacks.
It is noteworthy that the latest round of escalation began when the terrorist group murdered 12 children in a rocket attack on the northern Druze town of Majdal Shams. Hezbollah is the driving force behind this conflict.
However, the group’s decision to showcase this underground complex may actually represent a backtracking in its rhetoric after two weeks. The more Hezbollah wants to “show off” its capabilities, the less likely it is to use them. So this is a message and an attempt at attack in this long war, but perhaps not yet a battle cry.
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