Smole rises from where the Lebanese border village of Marwahine was targeted by Israeli bombardment, on March 17, 2024. (Credit: AFP archive photo)
BEIRUT – Hezbollah carried out its first-ever airstrike on Israel on Thursday, targeting a group of soldiers in Metula, amid ongoing fighting between the two sides in a support front that was opened by Hezbollah the day after its ally Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.
At 1:38 p.m. on Thursday, Hezbollah attacked a group of soldiers in Metula using drones equipped with S5 missiles, according to the party's statement. The drone fired the missiles on the soldiers, "causing casualties among them" before falling and exploding on the same target.
The party has claimed several drone attacks against Israel in the past few months, but these drones have been explosive only. Thursday was the first time Hezbollah used a drone that fires missiles at the target before exploding.
Shortly after carrying out the attack on Metula, Hezbollah revealed the specifications of the S5 missiles it used, which injured three soldiers, one of them severely, according to Haaretz.
The air-to-surface S-5 rockets are 1.4 meters long, with a 55mm caliber (fired via a 57mm tube), weigh five kilograms, and can travel a distance of four kilometers. These specifications were cross-referenced with other military databases. According to Hezbollah, the missiles used are unguided, have a high-explosive warhead and their engine uses solid fuel. The party also said that these missiles can be used by helicopters and warplanes.
L'Orient Today contacted a Hezbollah spokesperson for further details but she was not immediately available for comment.
According to military expert and former war journalist Elijah Magnier, the S5 missile is much smaller version of the American air-to-surface missile Hellfire which the Lebanese Army used against ISIS back in 2017.
Meanwhile, retired general Bassam Yassine confirmed to L'Orient Today that the S5 missiles are usually carried by attack helicopters, adding that it is the first time he heard about a drone firing such missiles.
"This missile is usually included in batches of 6, 12, 18 or 36 missiles" carried by attack helicopters, he said, adding that Hezbollah must have made a kind of "conversion" to put two S5 missiles on a drone.
He explained that there are two types of S5 missiles: anti-tank and anti-personnel: "I think the one that was launched on Thursday was anti-personnel, that's why there were casualties," he said.
Military expert: No army has used a drone this way before
Magnier told L'Orient Today that he considers the Thursday attack to be unusual, not only because the drone carried two missiles, but also because it acted "as a kamikaze with a warhead on the drone itself."
"What we have seen for the first time, something that is unusual, and that has not been used by any other army, is the function of the drone," Magnier claims.
He believes that "Hezbollah has even more drone capabilities" but that the party is not showing "all its capabilities right now."
Asked about whether S5 missiles can be put on any drone, he said that small drones can not carry such missiles.
"The kind of drone that was used [in the attack] is of medium-range and is usually used for assassinations," he said.
