“Israel” shocked by Hezbollah’s ownership and use of Almas missiles

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Hezbollah attacks have become more complex in recent weeks and have begun to deeply affect “Israel,” says US newspaper Foreign policy said the director of the Israeli Alma Research Center, Sarit Zehavi, expressing his fear of not knowing where this case leads.

“We know about this technology, but not the fact that it is in the hands of Hezbollah,” said Sarit Zehavi, a former Israeli military intelligence analyst, referring to Hezbollah’s use of the Almas anti-tank missile.

According to a report from Alma, last week Hezbollah targeted two Israeli surveillance balloons. One attack, near the Golani crossroads, about 21 miles south of the Lebanese border, directly hit the IOF’s large observation balloon, Sky Dew, with S-5 rockets launched from an unmanned drone suspected of be an Iranian-made Ababil T.

According to an analysis by the Alma Center, this is the first instance where the group successfully carried out an air-to-ground strike from Israeli airspace since October 8, 2023. The Alma Center noted: “Although it is not Although not a very advanced capability at this stage, it represents a significant leap forward for Hezbollah.

A second reconnaissance balloon, closer to the border, was also hit by an Iranian-made Almas anti-tank missile.

Despite the formidable “Israeli” anti-aircraft system, capable of intercepting both short and long range missiles, it lacks defense against precision anti-tank missiles like the Almas, used in an “unprecedented” manner by Hezbollah to target sites along the border. .

“We have no response to anti-tank attacks,” Zehavi said, as reported by Foreign police.

Israeli occupation settlements along the Israeli occupation’s northern border with Lebanon faced strikes from Russian Kornet anti-tank guided missiles, designed for heavy battle tanks, and Almas, whose designs are based on reverse-engineered Israeli technology, Zehavi explained.

Hezbollah’s use of this system is new. “We know the technology, but not the fact that it is in the hands of Hezbollah,” she said.

Spoils of the 2006 War: How Almas Was Made From Spike

Despite Hezbollah’s involvement along the northern front in the war since October 8, 2023, and the launching of hundreds of daily rocket attacks against Israeli occupation sites and newly established positions and gatherings of its forces, Hezbollah has not used the Almas anti-tank missile before. to January 28 last year, when it targeted surveillance equipment at the Ras al-Naqoura maritime site, marking a qualitative change in the course of the war.

This qualitative development attracted the attention of the Israeli media, with Haaretz newspaper talking about a missile that carries out beyond-line-of-sight strikes, rising upward to seek out and track hidden targets.

In an article published on February 1, 2024 by Haaretz, it was stated that the Almas missile, first revealed in 2016, is a version of one of the advanced anti-tank missiles in the arsenal of the Israeli occupying forces. The article said its origin was Israeli-made Spike missiles, several of which fell into Hezbollah’s hands as loot in 2006.

The newspaper sees this as an example of Iran’s ability to replicate Western munitions, as it has done with many types of missiles, drones and other combat tools that have fallen into its hands. He emphasized that Iran is a relatively advanced state, capable of taking such systems and replicating them with a high level of similarity and closeness to the original version. Iran has repeatedly demonstrated its effective improvisation capabilities, the article notes.

Additionally, the article explains that Israeli-made Spike missiles offer capabilities not available in their predecessors, such as the Kornet and TOW used by Hezbollah.

If the target is located well beyond the operator’s field of vision, the operator can first launch the missile, allow it to approach the estimated area, then, at a very late stage, choose a target.

Spike’s most famous perk is its ability to execute a top-down attack on tanks and armored vehicles and reach an area where armor is relatively weak.

The newspaper points out that if “Israel” can produce advanced versions of the missile, then what Iran produces is even more advanced, in order to meet Hezbollah’s needs.

Read more: Hezbollah’s three-step response to ‘Israel’: A preview of future attacks