Israel performed a very unconventional high-profile trolling today when it executed a gameday-like flyover of Hezbollah’s deceased leader Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral in Lebanon. The operation, which utilized two F-35Is and two F-15Is, was dramatic and clearly meant to send an intimidating reminder to the Iranian-backed group and its tens of thousands of supporters down below.
Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a mass strike executed by the Israeli Air Force on a Hezbollah underground bunker and command center located beneath a residential area in suburban Southern Beirut. The strike happened nearly five months ago, but the war with Israel kept a full public funeral from happening. Israel also released footage of the bombardment of the bunker for the first time today. It is known that dozens of JDAMs with BLU-109/B warheads were used to devastate the subterranean facility. You can read what we know about the high-stakes operation in this previous article.
The large-scale gathering in Beirut also mourned the loss of Hashem Safieddine, who commanded Hezbollah for a very short period following Nasrallah’s death, before Israel killed him too.
Hezbollah’s current Secretary General Naim Qassem addressed the public remotely during the funeral, vowing to follow Nasrallah’s example “even if we are all killed.”
Hezbollah has been deeply degraded by Israel’s campaign against it, with much of its leadership being killed, thousands of its operatives wounded by sabotaged communications devices, and many of its fighters killed and its higher-end weapons destroyed during a protracted ground and air operation. The fall of Syria’s strongman Bashar al-Assad also has had a major impact on the group’s ability to rebuild its capabilities, both logistically and operationally. The loss of Assad also impacted Iran heavily, who used Syria to supply and support Hezbollah.
A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah was signed in November.
The overtly ironic formation flyover — an act usually reserved for highly-honored military persons within a society — occurred at low altitude over Southern Beirut, which served as a reminder of Israel’s total aerial supremacy over the area. This is especially true following the regime change in Syria, after which Israel struck all of Assad’s known air defense capabilities. Russian air defenses in Syria, which reached out over a broad area, have also largely packed up and left. Still, such a flight profile is not without risk. Small arms fire or a sudden mechanical issue could leave few options flying that low and fast over a hostile area in broad daylight and during a time when your sworn enemies are already massed and rife with hatred.
The flyover also came amid multiple airstrikes carried out by Israel on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Israel is no stranger to exploiting every tactical advantage available to them, even in unconventional ways. A parade-style flyover executed by the same military branch that killed the man being mourned below is certainly an especially unique show of force by any standards.
Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com