Israeli Army: Hezbollah Owns 210-Km Range Missiles

Hezbollah displays an Iranian-made Fajr 5 missile at a military parade in southern Lebanon. (AFP)
Hezbollah displays an Iranian-made Fajr 5 missile at a military parade in southern Lebanon. (AFP)
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Israeli Army: Hezbollah Owns 210-Km Range Missiles

Hezbollah displays an Iranian-made Fajr 5 missile at a military parade in southern Lebanon. (AFP)
Hezbollah displays an Iranian-made Fajr 5 missile at a military parade in southern Lebanon. (AFP)

Lebanon’s Hezbollah owns more than 100,000 rockets and missiles of various types, the Israeli Army said in a report published on Sunday.

It revealed that the Lebanese party has expanded its rocket arsenal since the 2006 war and remains the closest threat to the Israeli regime's internal front.

The report was published at the end of Israel’s largest military drills, dubbed Chariots of Fire, and which simulate a scenario of war operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, including a ground invasion.

It said the number of missiles in Hezbollah's missile arsenal has increased dramatically since the second war against Lebanon in 2006, when the group possessed around 15,000 rockets and missiles, firing nearly 4,000 at Israel over the 34-day conflict.

The report revealed that most of Hezbollah's rockets and missiles arsenal consists of Katyusha missiles, weighting 20 kg with a range of 40 km, adding that on the eve of the 2006 war, the Shiite party owned between 6 and 7 thousands similar missiles, mostly provided by Iran.

Also, the group owns the Fajr 3 missile, with a range of 43 km and a warhead weighing 45 kg, and the more advanced Fajr 5 missile, with a range of 75 km and a warhead weighing 90 kg.

The report added that the Lebanese party possesses the "Raad-2" and "Raad-3" missiles, which are the Iranian version of the Russian "FROG-7" missile, capable of targeting the depths of Israel.

It said Hezbollah and Iran are trying to increase the accuracy of advanced missiles, such as the Zelzal-1 missile, which has a range of 125 to 160 kilometers and a warhead weighing 600 kg, and the Zelzal-2, with a range of 210 km and a warhead weighing 600 kg.

Hezbollah's missile arsenal also includes the Fateh-110 missile, a short-range ballistic missile that appears to be a different version of Zelzal-2, with a range of 250 to 300 km and a warhead weighing 500 kg.

The Israeli Maariv newspaper said on Sunday that Hezbollah is preparing for the next war with 1,500 missiles landing in Israel per day, estimating that 300 Israelis are likely to be killed in the first nine days of fighting.

The report came while the Israeli army revealed that its soldiers stationed on the northern border fired warning shots and drove away a group of Lebanese who approached the joint border fence.

A military source said that the Lebanese were seen suspiciously approaching the security fence separating the two countries, with the intention of crossing the border. It added that the Lebanese then stopped and returned back.



Gazans Struggling to Survive as Israel Plans for 'Conquest'

Palestinian children head to a water distribution point to fill their containers in Gaza City. Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP
Palestinian children head to a water distribution point to fill their containers in Gaza City. Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP
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Gazans Struggling to Survive as Israel Plans for 'Conquest'

Palestinian children head to a water distribution point to fill their containers in Gaza City. Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP
Palestinian children head to a water distribution point to fill their containers in Gaza City. Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP

Israel's plan for the "conquest" of Gaza has sparked renewed fears, but for many of the territory's residents, the most immediate threat to their lives remains the specter of famine amid a months-long Israeli blockade.

The plan to expand military operations, approved by Israel's security cabinet overnight, includes holding territories in the besieged Gaza Strip and moving the population south "for their protection", an Israeli official said.

But Gaza residents told AFP that they did not expect the new offensive would make any significant changes to the already dire humanitarian situation in the small coastal territory.

"Israel has not stopped the war, the killing, the bombing, the destruction, the siege, and the starvation -- every day -- so how can they talk about expanding military operations?" Awni Awad, 39, told AFP.

Awad, who lives in a tent in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis after being displaced by Israeli evacuation orders, said that his situation was already "catastrophic and tragic".

"I call on the world to witness the famine that grows and spreads every day," he said.

The UN's World Food Program (WFP) in late April said it had depleted all its foods stocks in Gaza due to Israel's blockade on all supplies since March 2.

Aya al-Skafy, a resident of Gaza City, told AFP her baby died because of malnutrition and medicine shortages last week.

"She was four months old and weighed 2.8 kilograms (6.2 pounds), which is very little. Medicine was not available," she said.

"Due to severe malnutrition, she suffered from blood acidity, liver and kidney failure, and many other complications. Her hair and nails also fell out due to malnutrition."

Umm Hashem al-Saqqa, another Gaza City resident, fears her five-year-old son might face a similar fate, but is powerless to do anything about it.

"Hashem suffers from iron deficiency anaemia. He is constantly pale and lacks balance, and is unable to walk due to malnutrition," she told AFP.

"There is no food, no medicine, and no nutritional supplements. The markets are empty of food, and the government clinics and pharmacies have nothing."

'Distract the world'

Gaza City resident Mohammed al-Shawa, 65, said that Israel's new military roadmap changes little as it already controls most of Gaza.

"The Israeli announcement about expanding military operations in Gaza is just talk for the media, because the entire Gaza Strip is occupied, and there is no safe area in Gaza," he said.

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that 69 percent of Gaza has now been either incorporated into one of Israel's buffer zones, or is subject to evacuation orders.

That number rises to 100 percent in the southern governorate of Rafah, where over 230,000 people lived before the war but which has now been entirely declared a no-go zone.

"There is no food, no medicine, and the announcement of an aid distribution plan is just to distract the world and mislead global public opinion," Shawa said, referring to reports of a new Israeli plan for humanitarian aid delivery that has yet to be implemented.

"The reality is that Israel is killing Palestinians in Gaza by bombing, shooting, or through starvation and denial of medical treatment," he said.

Israel says that its renewed bombardments and the blockade of Gaza are aimed at forcing Hamas to release hostages held in the territory.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised the new plan for Gaza on Monday and evoked a proposal previously floated by US President Donald Trump to displace the territory's residents elsewhere.

The far-right firebrand said he would push for the plan's completion, until "Hamas is defeated, Gaza is fully occupied, and Trump's historical plan is implemented, with Gaza refugees resettled in other countries".