Hezbollah declares move to 'escalation phase' against Israel

According to Alarabiya, a statement from Hezbollah's operations room on October 18 said that the transition to a new phase will be reflected in events and developments in the coming days. In addition, the group's fighters used precision-guided missiles and explosive-laden drones for the first time to target Israeli military positions.

The statement appeared to refer to an explosive-laden unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that evaded Israel's multi-layered air defense system and crashed into a hall at a military training camp deep inside Israel, killing four soldiers and injuring dozens more.

Hezbollah announced: "Hundreds of fighters are ready to counter any Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon villages." The armed group noted that attacks on Israel have increased in recent days.

Earlier this week, Hezbollah also claimed to have fired a new missile called the Qader 2 toward the outskirts of Tel Aviv. Hezbollah also said its air defense units shot down two Israeli Hermes 450 UAVs this week.

According to Hezbollah, the group's fighters are operating under pre-prepared plans to fight the Israeli army in several areas of southern Lebanon.

The Iran-backed militant group also announced Israel's losses since it launched a ground offensive in Lebanon on October 1. According to Hezbollah statistics, 55 Israeli soldiers were killed and more than 500 others were injured.

Israel has been attacking southern and eastern Lebanon, areas controlled by Hezbollah, since the war between the two sides broke out.