While Israel’s military capabilities have improved since its last war in Lebanon in 2006, when the Iron Dome defence system didn’t exist yet, so has Hezbollah’s arsenal.
Hezbollah is a militia and political party that has grown to become the strongest and most heavily armed non-state actor in the world. It has been described as “a militia trained like an army and equipped like a state.”
The group’s arsenal includes guided and unguided rockets, antitank artillery, and ballistic and anti-ship missiles, as well as explosives-laden drones—allowing it to reach deep into Israel.
Most of Hezbollah’s weapons are lower-grade, unguided munitions, which could overwhelm Israel’s aerial defence systems if unleashed in large numbers. Its biggest military asset is the long-range ballistic missile, which is estimated to have thousands, including 1,500 precision missiles with ranges of 250–300 kilometres (155–186 miles).
Analysts estimate Hezbollah has between 130,000 and 150,000 rockets and missiles. The Lebanese group says it commands more than 100,000 soldiers. Hezbollah is secretive about its arsenal. It took 13 years for the group to reveal that it used a C-802 missile to sink an Israeli ship in 2006. Anti-ship missiles could also be used to hit offshore oil rigs, specifically in Israel’s Leviathan gas field.
The Israeli military operations that started about three weeks ago against Hezbollah's focal points in southern Lebanon and in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and in which a large number of its most prominent leaders were killed, have raised questions about the state of Hezbollah's missile arsenal.
