The Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization, is reportedly making arrangements to supply an air defense system to a Lebanon-based terror group.
The system includes anti-aircraft missiles and air-defense guns to intercept airplanes, as per The Sun.
Hezbollah's SA-22 Air Defense Quest Stirs Middle East Concerns
The SA-22, also known as the Pantsir-S1, can engage stealthy jets like the F-22 and F-35, the most advanced fighter jets deployed by the Israelis. If Wagner provides the system to Hezbollah, it would give the group advanced capabilities to repel Israeli aircraft, cruise missiles, and precision munitions.
While the US cannot confirm whether the air defense system has already been delivered, officials are closely monitoring the discussions between Wagner forces and Hezbollah. The potential delivery of the SA-22 is a significant concern for US officials, as it could escalate tensions in the region.
Israel's air force tends to operate with relative impunity, as Hamas and Hezbollah lack the hardware to shoot down aircraft. The Pentagon spokesman, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told the Wall Street Journal that the report was 'very concerning' if true.
The Russian embassy in Washington, DC, and the US National Security Council did not respond to comments on the report from DailyMail.com on Thursday night.
The Wagner Group, a state-financed private military company, was previously led by Yevgeny Prigozhin. In June, the group launched a failed mutiny against Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin died in August in what US intelligence assesses to be a likely Russian-backed assassination. His 25-year-old son, Pavel Prigozhin, reportedly took over the organization's command.
Israel, which has been waging a ground and air war against Hamas in Gaza, hopes to avoid opening an additional front on its border with the delivery of the air defense system to Hezbollah. IDF troops have been exchanging fire with Hezbollah near Israel's border with Lebanon.
The US has positioned the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group in the Eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran and Hezbollah against further aggression. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier and its strike group are also in the region and are expected to transit the Suez Canal over the weekend on their way to the Middle East, according to Nation.
Hezbollah Attacks Raise Tensions
On Thursday, there was a significant escalation along the Lebanon-Israel border, with Hezbollah attacking Israeli positions with drones, mortar fire, and suicide drones. The group reportedly attacked 19 Israeli posts along the border, including one that was struck with two suicide drones.
The Israeli military struck back at Hezbollah's command centers, arms depots, and sites from where the rockets were fired using warplanes and helicopter gunships. According to Israeli medical services, two people were injured after rockets fired from Lebanon hit the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.
A blaze, a wrecked car, and a damaged building were also reported, which had been mostly evacuated in the beginning stages of the current Israel-Hamas conflict. The state-run National News Agency in Lebanon said that four civilians were killed on Thursday after an Israeli bombardment of the Saluki Valley region of southern Lebanon.
The deaths increased the number of civilian casualties on the Lebanese side to ten since tensions escalated following the Hamas attack in south Israel on October 7th, which left 1,400 Israelis dead. Israel has initiated relentless air strikes in Gaza, with the enclave's Hamas-run health authority reporting that over 9,000 individuals have been killed, many of whom were children.
Hamas does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in casualty figures. In Thursday's IDF offensive, around 240 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by Hamas.
With rising tensions in the region due to the potential delivery of an air defense system to a terror group, the situation is likely to remain volatile. US officials continue to monitor the discussions between Wagner forces and Hezbollah, hoping to deter further escalation of the conflict, Mail Online reported
