Israeli airstrike targets Hezbollah commander in Beirut
On July 30 in the afternoon, the Israeli army conducted a targeted airstrike on Beirut, the Lebanese capital. The objective of the attack has already been confirmed. We take a look at the weapons that may have been used in the attack.
The situation in the Middle East has been very tense for many months. This time, Israel decided to conduct an attack targeting Fuad Shukr, a high-ranking Hezbollah commander. Let us recall that in October last year, Hezbollah, in solidarity with Hamas, attacked Israel on the border with Lebanon. Fuad Shukr is a close advisor to Hezbollah's chief, Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel's attack on Beirut
"We conducted a targeted airstrike on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, aiming at the Hezbollah commander responsible for Saturday's fatal attack on the Golan Heights and other strikes on Israel," the Israeli army said in an official statement.
The Israeli army is very well-equipped. It has rocket artillery systems and several types of aircraft at its disposal that can be used to drop missiles and bombs from the air. These include F-16C/D "Barak," F-16I "Sufa," F-15I "Ra'am," and F-35I "Adir." Israel already has about 40 of the latter, and by the end of 2024, it wants to possess as many as 50.
Israel's precision weaponry
As explained by Przemysław Juraszek, a journalist from Wirtualna Polska, Israel also has a wide arsenal of precision weapons. These include primarily Popeye family cruise missiles carrying warheads weighing 350 kilograms, ranging up to even 300 kilometres. At a slightly shorter range of up to 250 kilometres, Israel can attack targets using Delilah cruise missiles with warheads weighing around 30 kilograms. Crucially, Delilah and Popeye are subsonic missiles, moving below Mach 1 (1235 km/h) after launch but flying at low altitudes, making them difficult for radars to detect.
Additionally, Israel has newer ROCKS and RAMPAGE missiles, with a range of up to 500 kilometres. Much information about them remains unknown, but RAMPAGE missiles are certainly supersonic. They strike targets at Mach 1.7 (1,975 km/h).
As for guided bombs, the Israeli army has primarily used laser-guided GBU Paveway bombs, as well as JDAM bombs with a combination of satellite and inertial navigation and Elbit Systems' MPR bombs in previous attacks.
