A drone carrying the Hezbollah flag in Aaramta, May 2023, during a party military parade to celebrate the liberation of southern Lebanon. (Credit: Illustration photo/Anwar Amro/AFP/Archives)
Hezbollah has released an eight-minute video on its war media Telegram channel, purportedly showing images of the Ramat David Airbase in Israel, without being intercepted by anti-aircraft defense system.
The video is the third in a series titled "Hudhud," named after the hoopoe, Israel's national bird. It features drone footage of strategic civilian and military sites identified as "targets" within Israel.
'Most important air base'
The eight-and-a-half-minute video, dated Tuesday, July 23, 2024, portrays what is presented as the “only air base in northern Israel” and one of the country's “most important.” It allegedly shows the detailed composition of “three combat squadrons,” including military air vehicles parked on the ground, as well as the offices and residences of officers and air base's commanders, the latter whose names, faces, and more details are displayed.
The publication of this new video did not fail to provoke a reaction from the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesman Avichay Adraee on his X account: “The images published by Hezbollah were captured by an exclusively photographic drone. The activity of the air base was not affected. [...] The air force is working in every way to protect the skies over the State of Israel, and will continue to do so.”
The video coincides with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the United States, where he is scheduled to address Congress Wednesday. Netanyahu is also scheduled to meet President Joe Biden, former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump, as well as Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
This release follows another video published by the Alma Research Center, accused of being a Tel Aviv propaganda tool, showing a Jamaa Islamiya center, a party close to Hamas and Hezbollah and involved in the clashes in South Lebanon, located in the heart of Beirut. This was presented as a warning response to the first two reconnaissance and tracking drone sequences released by Hezbollah in the HudHud series.
