Imad-4: Hezbollah’s ‘dig’ at Israeli propaganda

The revelation of Hezbollah’s underground missile facility not only debunks Israeli claims of weapons being stored among civilians but also forces Tel Aviv to recognize that Hezbollah’s strategic capabilities are far more sophisticated than previously understood.

Khalil Nasrallah

The Cradle 

Hezbollah’s decision last week to release a video of its vast underground network of tunnels is not one to be taken lightly. While the organization has previously showcased some of its capabilities, this marks the first unveiling of its strategic facility, “Imad-4.” Named after the late Hezbollah Military Commander Imad Mughniyeh, it houses a fraction of the Lebanese resistance movement’s advanced missile arsenal.

The revelation carries significant messages, not only to the current regional war centered on Gaza but also referencing events spanning at least two and a half decades. Hezbollah’s messages are closely connected with the Syrian conflict and Israel’s long-term efforts to prevent Lebanon from acquiring weapons that could shift the balance of power, including those sophisticated missile systems now being manufactured within Lebanon.

But one of the most critical aims of this disclosure is a full-frontal challenge to Israel’s false narrative that Hezbollah stores its weapons, particularly rockets, among civilian populations. 

It is a groundless claim heavily promoted by Tel Aviv’s propaganda apparatus and echoed by Hezbollah opponents within Lebanon. For security reasons, Hezbollah has traditionally refrained from commenting on this matter.

Countering Israeli propaganda 

The unveiling of the Imad-4 missile facility represents a hefty blow to an Israeli media narrative that seeks to portray Hezbollah as a military force that hides behind civilians, storing its weapons in homes, schools, residential complexes, and other civilian infrastructure. 

That narrative has been a cornerstone of Tel Aviv’s anti-resistance rhetoric, not only in Israeli circles but also among Arab, Lebanese, and international media.

The examples are rife. On 12 July 2016, during a UN Security Council session on Resolution 1701, Israeli envoy Danny Danon presented an aerial photograph of the village of Shaqra in southern Lebanon, claiming that Hezbollah had turned the village into a stronghold and that “one out of three buildings used for terror activities, including rocket launchers and arms depots.”

“Hezbollah has placed these positions next to schools and other public institutions putting innocent civilians in great danger,” he charged. 

In another instance, on 6 December 2018, Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee posted on X, accompanied by a propaganda video, repeating the false claim that one out of every three houses in southern Lebanon is a Hezbollah site:

Residents of Lebanon: this is the hidden truth. One in every three homes in the south is a Hezbollah site. This is what is happening in Kafr Kila and most of the Shia villages in south Lebanon. This is how Hezbollah has turned southern Lebanon into a terrorist stronghold under the noses of the Lebanese government.

Adraee made similar accusations on 14 July 2021, when he charged Hezbollah with establishing a military warehouse near a school in the town of Aba in southern Lebanon. He noted that this warehouse was one of thousands of targets in the possession of Israel’s Northern Command, which would be targeted in any upcoming confrontation.

Multi-front media assault 

But these Israeli fabrications have been widely amplified by western media, with some publishing Israeli talking points – such as Rafic Hariri International Airport being a hub for smuggling missiles or other alleged ‘facilities’ within and around Beirut’s southern suburbs.

For many years, Arab media outlets have launched comparable campaigns, aiming to sway Lebanese public opinion against Hezbollah and leveraging these narratives in the country’s sectarian political dynamics. 

In some instances, such as the incident in Ain Qana on 22 September 2020, Arab and Lebanese media initially reported an explosion as a Hezbollah weapons depot inside of a house. However, it was later revealed to be a site for collecting remnants of shells and mines.

In another incident, days later, on 29 September, Hezbollah organized a media tour in the Ouzai area to refute claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it was a missile and weapons factory. 

These events followed the national tragedy of the Beirut port explosion the preceding month, which Hezbollah’s enemies and political rivals were keen to exploit. Hezbollah faced grave accusations, like storing “ammonium nitrate” at the port, which the movement vehemently denied.

However, the showcasing of Imad-4 decisively counters these narratives, whether from Israel or other media outlets, by demonstrating that its missile arsenal and weapon storage facilities are located far from civilian and residential areas.

Strategic timing and tactical pressure

While its exact location remains secret, the timing of Imad-4’s disclosure is linked to several immediate concerns, given the heightened tensions in the region. It comes in the wake of Israel’s twin assassinations of Hezbollah war commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. 

The move also aims to thwart any potential Israeli “pre-emptive strike” against civilian areas, which Tel Aviv will try to spin as “missile facilities.” It is also intended to disrupt Israeli calculations, which could lead to miscalculations in response to any future actions by the resistance. Furthermore, Imad-4 demonstrates Hezbollah’s readiness for confrontation should Israel decide to escalate the conflict further. 

As Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has hinted at in past speeches, the organization’s missile arsenal is being positioned in a fortified and secret manner. The reveal also adds pressure to ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Doha, intended to strengthen the hand of Palestinian negotiators.

For more than two decades, the Lebanese resistance has been constructing missile facilities in complete secrecy. Israel has expended considerable intelligence resources trying to locate these facilities to plan for any potential conflict. 

Despite the challenges posed by the Syrian war, Hezbollah managed to transfer advanced weapons to Lebanon, where they are presently manufactured and developed, including missile systems and drones.

Thickening the fog of war 

Hezbollah’s revelation of the Imad-4 facility undoubtedly forces Israeli decision-makers to reconsider their strategies, particularly within the security establishment. The questions raised go beyond mere confrontation with Lebanon or the decision to escalate into full-scale war; they touch on broader regional dynamics.

The strategic preparations Hezbollah has made in Lebanon are just one piece of a larger puzzle. The Syrian arena, too, plays a critical role in the Axis of Resistance’s strategy, where missile facilities have been built over years of conflict and even prior. 

One of the primary objectives of Israel’s so-called “battle between wars” in Syria was to prevent the Syrian army from regaining its strategic missile capabilities and to disrupt Iran’s and its allies’ efforts to build war infrastructure designed to be used against Israel in the event of the Unity of Fronts strategy being implemented. 

In short, the Imad-4 revelation compels the occupation state to reconsider its decision on whether to engage in a full-scale war with Lebanon. Hezbollah has shown that it can effectively operate under the radar, outmaneuvering Israeli intelligence despite organizational and operational setbacks due to targeted killings or strikes. 

This media-savvy move changes the strategic calculus, leaving Israel with difficult questions about the true extent of Hezbollah’s capabilities and the effectiveness of its own intelligence-gathering operations. 

Additionally, it demonstrates the importance of cognitive warfare – a potent but often underestimated tool in Hezbollah and the broader Resistance Axis’s arsenal.