BEIRUT: Hezbollah
released footage of what it says are anti-ship missiles of the kind it used 13
years ago against Israel before marking on Friday its self-declared
"victory" in the 2006 war. Israel has fought several conflicts
against the Iran-backed Hezbollah, the last in 2006. More than 1,200 Lebanese,
mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, the majority soldiers, died
during the last conflict but many in Israel consider the war a failure as
Hezbollah was not defeated.

Since 2006,
Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that the Shiite group maintains an
arsenal of several hundred long-range missiles that could be used to target
Israel. On Thursday night, a series of videos on Hezbollah-run media purported
to show at least five anti-ship missiles stored inside metallic containers in
an unknown location. Hezbollah's logo could be seen printed on the warheads.

It was not clear
when the footage was filmed. A Hezbollah naval commander, identified as Haj
Jalal, told Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV on Thursday that the anti-ship missiles are
of the same kind used in a 2006 attack on one of the Israeli navy's top
warships, the INS Hanit. The warship was struck off the coast of Beirut in July
2006, killing four soldiers and causing extensive damage to the corvette. It
was the first direct strike on an Israeli warship in decades and Hezbollah
celebrated it as among its biggest victories of the 34-day war.

An investigation
found that the missile hit because officials did not believe Hezbollah had such
sophisticated technology and so didn't turn on anti-missile systems. On
Thursday, Hezbollah released what it said are videos of the 2006 missile
attack. One clip purported to show men dressed in Hezbollah uniform tracking
the Israeli warship using a radar. It also purported to show a truck-mounted
launcher firing two anti-ship missiles, that were filmed streaking through the
night sky.  Shortly after, the video shows
a distant blaze.

In the years since
the 2006 war, the discovery of offshore gas fields in Israeli waters has
prompted investment in new warships to protect non-moving gas platforms. Haj
Jalal on Thursday told Al-Manar that an anti-ship arsenal is significant to
Hezbollah because the "sea serves as an economic lung for the Zionist
enemy."  He mentioned "offshore
gas fields, some of which are still being explored." "A threat at sea
is a threat to Israel's national security," said Haj Jalal, whose face was
blurred during the interview, a common security measure by the Shiite group.

On Friday,
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah gave a televised speech as the movement marked
the anniversary of what it called its military "victory" in Bint
Jbeil in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border. He said that the 2006 war
has helped Hezbollah develop "a military system to defend our villages,
towns and cities." "If (Israel) enters southern Lebanon... you will
see a live broadcast of the destruction of Israeli brigades," he warned. -
AFP