Did Israel Conceal Damage to Its Warship After Hezbollah Strike?

Hezbollah released video footage documenting a naval strike carried out on 5 April, targeting a warship off the Lebanese coast using a sea-launched cruise missile. The footage shows preparations inside launch positions, including coordinate systems and firing equipment.

The operation appears to have taken place at night and involved a single missile launch. In an earlier official statement, Hezbollah said it had targeted an Israeli military vessel approximately 68 nautical miles offshore, claiming the ship was preparing for operations against Lebanese territory. The group stated that the strike followed hours of surveillance and resulted in a direct hit.

Conflicting Narratives Over the Target

Questions have emerged over the true identity of the vessel struck at sea. While Hezbollah maintains that the target was an Israeli warship, Israel’s Channel 14 described the incident as unusual, claiming the missile was directed towards a British naval vessel sailing roughly 70 miles from the coast. According to this account, the strike was the result of misidentification.

The same outlet suggested the incident highlights the elevated risk facing all naval assets operating in the region.

However, The Guardian reported a firm denial from a UK Ministry of Defence source, stating that claims of a Royal Navy vessel being hit by a missile are entirely false.

This explicit denial places the Israeli narrative under scrutiny, raising questions about whether Israel is attempting to obscure damage to its own vessel by attributing the incident to a British ship, thereby diverting attention from potential weaknesses in its naval defences.

The Missile Behind the Strike

Visual analysis of the footage released by Hezbollah indicates that the missile used was likely a C-802 anti-ship missile, a Chinese-designed system developed in the 1990s. The missile has an operational range of approximately 120 kilometres and carries a warhead weighing around 165 kilograms, according to available reports.

Historical data suggests that China supplied Iran with roughly 300 missiles of this type before deliveries were halted due to US pressure and international arms restrictions.

To overcome these limitations, Iranian engineers are believed to have reverse-engineered the system to produce a domestic version known as the Noor missile, which maintains similar range and destructive capability to the original.

Further developments reportedly led to more advanced variants, including the Qader and Ghadir missile systems, expanding Iran’s anti-ship capabilities.

A Familiar Weapon in Regional Conflict

This is not the first time Hezbollah has deployed this class of naval weaponry. The incident recalls the well-known strike on the Israeli Sa’ar 5 warship during the July 2006 war, which marked a significant moment in the evolution of asymmetric naval warfare in the region.

Escalation Despite Ceasefire Context

On 2 March, Hezbollah began targeting Israeli military positions and settlements in response to continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon, despite an existing ceasefire agreement in place since November 2024. The escalation also followed the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli strike on Iran on 28 February.

The latest naval strike adds a new dimension to the conflict, highlighting both the expanding scope of engagement and the growing sophistication of weapons being deployed.