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Hezbollah's extensive arms arsenal could overwhelm Israel’s air defense if Lebanon attacked: WaPost

Thursday, 11 July 2024 9:59 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 11 July 2024 10:11 AM ]

Fighters of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement ride on a vehicle carrying a missile during an annual parade. (Photo by AFP)

The Hezbollah resistance movement has a large weapons arsenal that could reach far into the Israeli-occupied territories and overwhelm the regime's air defense systems in case of a full-scale war on Lebanon, an American newspaper says.

In a report published on Wednesday, The Washington Post said Hezbollah is in possession of guided and unguided rockets, antitank artillery, ballistic and anti-ship missiles, as well as explosive-laden drones.

“Analysts estimate Hezbollah has between 130,000 and 150,000 rockets and missiles, more than four times as many as its ally [the Palestinian resistance group] Hamas was believed to have stockpiled before the war in Gaza,” it added.

“And the Lebanese group says it commands more than 100,000 soldiers, well over double the high-end estimates of Hamas’s prewar fighting force.”

The report also noted that the majority of Hezbollah’s weapons are low-grade unguided munitions, but they could still threaten Israel’s air defense if launched in large quantities at the same time.

In a full-blown military aggression against Lebanon, saturation attacks could overwhelm Israel’s so-called Iron Dome, according to the report.

Israel has “already spent a lot of Iron Dome interceptors during the war in Gaza,” said Fabian Hinz, a defense and military analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “How many do they have left?”

The report said Hezbollah has guided ballistic missiles with a range of up to 185 miles that potentially put Tel Aviv and even the occupied al-Quds in the crosshairs.

Hezbollah, it added, has also a large fleet of drones at its disposal, varying in size, shape and capability.

Hezbollah publishes drone surveillance footage of key Israeli sites in Haifa

The nearly 10-minute video was gathered from a surveillance aircraft of key locations in the northern city of Haifa.

Such capabilities could present a unique, and unusual challenge to Israel, said Shaan Shaikh, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Hezbollah is far better equipped than Hamas.”

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging deadly fire since early October, shortly after the regime launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a surprise operation by the Palestinian Hamas resistance group.

Hezbollah has vowed to keep up its retaliatory attacks as long as the Tel Aviv regime continues its Gaza onslaught, which has so far killed at least 38,295 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 88,241 others.

Fears of a wider regional conflict have been growing in recent weeks as Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces have intensified their attacks.

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