Against the backdrop of the possibility that the Hamas-Israel war will spread to additional fronts, on October 13, 2023 a Hamas official told the Lebanese Al-Jumhuriya daily that at the same time as the U.S. sent an aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East, Iran had transferred long-range missiles to "several locations" for the purpose of targeting Israel if necessary. He did not give details about where the missiles were now located.
The official assessed that an Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip would lead to an escalation in the war and to additional resistance axis elements, including Hizbullah, joining it. He said that Hizbullah was on alert and that its elite Radwan Unit is ready to invade Israeli towns in northern Israel as soon as Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah gives the order.[1]
Hizbullah missiles. Source: Al-ain.com, January 2, 2021.
Earlier, on October 2, the Kuwaiti journal Al-Jaridah reported that advanced Iranian weapons had been delivered to Hizbullah, and that during the visit to Syria and Lebanon by IRGC Qods Force commander General Esmail Qaani in September, Russia and Iran had agreed that Hizbullah should transfer a large amount of its older weaponry to Arab tribes in eastern Syria that are fighting against the U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as well as to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine. In exchange, Russia would assist in the transfer of advanced Iranian weapons to Hizbullah via Syrian territory.[2]
In addition, over the past several days Syrian opposition websites have reported that Hizbullah and other Iran-backed militias in southern Syria near the Israeli border have been reinforcing their positions with fighters equipped with Iranian weapons, including missiles.[3]
[1] Al-Jumhuriyah (Lebanon), October 13, 2023.
[2] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10821, Kuwaiti Daily: Hizbullah Will Transfer Its Outdated Weapons To The Arab Tribes In Eastern Syria And To Russia, And Russia Will Facilitate The Transfer Of Advanced Iranian Weapons To Hizbullah Via Syria, October 3, 2023.
[3] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10859: Reports On Reinforcement Of Hizbullah Forces And Iranian Militias In Southern Syria In Advance Of Possible Expansion Of The Israel-Hamas Fighting, October 12, 2023.
