picture: what weapons does hezbollah have? it has missiles with a range of 500 kilometers. whether it can defeat the iron dome is the key
2024-09-25
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hezbollah, considered the world's most powerful non-state group, has been in a confrontation with israeli forces on lebanon's southern border since october 8.
cross-border hostilities between lebanon and israel have raised fears of a regional conflict and prompted diplomatic efforts to ease tensions. while hezbollah's military power cannot match israel's, its increasingly sophisticated arsenal has the potential to inflict significant damage on israel.
has missiles with a range of 500 kilometers
hezbollahcapable of striking all of israel
▲hezbollah’s main weapons and attack range
israel's military is far superior to hezbollah's, but hezbollah claims to have missiles with a range of up to 500 kilometers, capable of striking all of israel. but they would have to bypass israel's iron dome air defense system to cause damage to it.
israel must also contend with hezbollah’s strategic depth. the group has coordinated with militants across yemen, syria, gaza and iraq. the level of coordination among some of these groups has increased significantly since israel launched its military operation into gaza in october following an attack by hamas militants. hezbollah has been locked in a conflict with its regional partners and israel and its allies for nearly a year. yemen’s houthi rebels have launched attacks on ships and israel in the red sea from time to time. iraqi resistance groups have also launched attacks on u.s. troops stationed in that country.
israel stepped up its direct confrontation with hezbollah in september. in a series of attacks, hezbollah walkie-talkies and pagers exploded, killing dozens and injuring thousands, and then an israeli airstrike in beirut killed a senior hezbollah commander. in response, hezbollah vowed to wage an "unrestricted war of liquidation."
israel
surrounded by numerous hostile combat groups
hezbollah’s partners in the region have been engaged in a simmering conflict with israel and its allies for nearly a year. yemen’s houthi rebels have occasionally fired on ships in the red sea, an artery for global trade, as well as on israel. the islamic resistance in iraq, an umbrella group of hardline shia factions, has also launched attacks on u.s. positions in the country. the groups have conditioned a cessation of these hostilities on a ceasefire in gaza and a repositioning of themselves as a “front of support” for the palestinians in gaza, as one senior hezbollah leader described it.
hezbollah has a powerful alliance with militant groups in gaza, yemen, syria and iraq, which have stepped up coordination since the first round of the israeli-palestinian conflict broke out on october 7 last year.
hezbollah's fighting force rose from the ruins of the 1982 israeli invasion of beirut. at the time, it was just a ragtag group. since then, the group's military and political power has risen rapidly. in 2000, its guerrillas forced the israeli army to withdraw from southern lebanon, ending more than 20 years of occupation. in 2006, it survived a 34-day war with israel, which caused great damage to lebanon.
the group supported syrian president bashar al-assad during the country's escalating civil war in 2010. during the nearly decade-long war, hezbollah has become more sophisticated in urban combat and has solidified alliances with other armed groups fighting in syria. it has also cleared important weapons supply routes through its partners in iraq and syria, further strengthening its arsenal.
hezbollah has a vast arsenal of weapons
attempting to destroy israel's iron dome
hezbollah is probably the best-equipped non-state group in the world, with an arsenal more sophisticated and more destructive than hamas.
hezbollah has been waging asymmetric warfare in its decades-long conflict with israel, which has sought to bolster its military capabilities while seeking to build deterrence despite israel's military superiority.
▲hezbollah has about 120,000 to 200,000 rockets and missiles
but hezbollah is also treading carefully. provoking israel’s full firepower could severely weaken the group’s capabilities, setting it back years or even decades and devastating much of lebanon, which is already struggling under the weight of a prolonged financial crisis.
the group has lost about 500 fighters, including commanders, in border confrontations with israel since october. the conflict has also had a significant impact on israel, with about 70,000 people displaced from its northern border area and many killed, including soldiers and civilians.
▲ unmanned aerial vehicles owned by hezbollah source: center for strategic and international studies, u.s. army, iranian ministry of defense export center
military analysts estimate hezbollah has between 30,000 and 50,000 soldiers, but earlier this year their leader, nasrallah, claimed his group had more than 100,000 fighters and reservists.
▲comparison of the number of hezbollah and israeli military personnel
as the border confrontation continues, hezbollah has sought to undermine israel’s vaunted iron dome missile defense system, with some success, by attacking its platforms and striking with drones and short-range missiles in an attempt to open pathways for other ballistic missiles to penetrate deep into israeli territory.
the full size of hezbollah’s arsenal is unclear. in response to the two attacks on israeli wireless equipment, hezbollah fired a barrage of missiles across the border into northern israel and said it struck an air base with fadi 1 and fadi 2 missiles — long-range weapons that have not been used so far in the nearly year-long conflict.
the possibility of a full-scale war between israel and lebanon
will push the middle east into uncharted waters
▲the working principle of israel's iron dome defense system
the israeli mobile air defense system consists of 10 batteries, each carrying 3 to 4 mobile missile launchers, with each missile costing an estimated $40,000 to $50,000. their strategic deployment provides a defensive barrier against rockets, mortars and drones for up to 60 square miles of densely populated areas, with israel claiming a success rate of more than 90% in the past.
▲israel's extensive defense system
hezbollah's chances of survival in an all-out war with israel depend on whether it can defeat these defenses, which have intercepted thousands of aerial weapons from iran, gaza and lebanon in recent months.
the prospect of an all-out war between israel and lebanon, fueled by hezbollah’s growing strength, would push the middle east into uncharted waters. diplomatic efforts to prevent that scenario are likely to continue at a breathtaking pace.
red star news reporter deng shuyi compiled cctv news (editor-in-chief pan chen) and others
editor yang ran responsible editor deng qiguang
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