Israeli naval officer: Hezbollah may have anti-ship missiles in Syria
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior Israeli Navy officer told Mar'ariv newspaper that the Shiite Hezbollah militia may be in possession of very advanced supersonic anti-ship missiles which may threaten the Israeli navy.
"Syria possesses Russian-made Yakhont missiles, and there is the feeling that they have also made their way into the hands of Hezbollah," the official said.
"In any event, our working assumption is that (Hezbollah) will launch those missiles from Syria," he added. "Hezbollah has in its possession a broad spectrum of missiles. Any ship that leaves our docks is now at threat."
During the last war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Shiite militia successfully crippled an Israeli naval vessel, the Hanit corvette, using a Chinese-made C-802 anti-ship missile.
Israel has long feared that Hezbollah, which intervened in Syria in mid-2013 on the side of its ally, the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, would get ahold of advanced anti-air or anti-ship missiles in the Syrian arsenal.
Since January 2013 it has been intermittently bombing such weapons with its air force, reportedly on one occasion in 2013 striking a warehouse in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, believed to be housing Yakhont missiles.
"Syria possesses Russian-made Yakhont missiles, and there is the feeling that they have also made their way into the hands of Hezbollah," the official said.
"In any event, our working assumption is that (Hezbollah) will launch those missiles from Syria," he added. "Hezbollah has in its possession a broad spectrum of missiles. Any ship that leaves our docks is now at threat."
During the last war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Shiite militia successfully crippled an Israeli naval vessel, the Hanit corvette, using a Chinese-made C-802 anti-ship missile.
Israel has long feared that Hezbollah, which intervened in Syria in mid-2013 on the side of its ally, the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, would get ahold of advanced anti-air or anti-ship missiles in the Syrian arsenal.
Since January 2013 it has been intermittently bombing such weapons with its air force, reportedly on one occasion in 2013 striking a warehouse in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, believed to be housing Yakhont missiles.