Missile arsenal, drones, human losses… What state is Hezbollah in after the Israeli strikes in Lebanon?

The Shiite militia has a veritable arsenal of war, including a thousand ballistic missiles and about 150,000 rockets. Israel has been able to locate several missile launchers and ammunition depots, and is carrying out targeted assassinations in Lebanon.

The Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv was targeted on Wednesday, September 25, by a Qader missile fired by Hezbollah, which was intercepted by Israeli missile defense. This is the first time that the Shiite movement has used this Iranian-made ballistic missile. But what is the state of Hezbollah, which has been targeted in Lebanon by massive bombings by the Israeli army in recent days? Franceinfo looked into the matter.

An arsenal with ballistic missiles and drones

Hezbollah has about 1,000 ballistic missiles, 200 of which can hit Israeli territory. The Qader 1 used against the headquarters of the Israeli secret services, but also the Fateh-110 which carries an explosive charge of 500 kilos and has an accuracy of ten meters. Thanks to technological assistance from Iran, the guidance systems have been improved in recent years, which allows much more precise and deeper shots. The arsenal of the Shiite militia was estimated last year at 150,000 rockets and missiles by the Israeli Institute for Security Studies. The rockets which have a shorter range allow it to easily reach the north of Israel and in particular the port of Haifa, the third city of the country.

The “Party of God” has also built up a stock of drones that it manufactures in part locally. It also imports drones from Iran, its main supporter, notably the Shahed 136 and other dual-guided drones that can saturate Israeli defenses. Hezbollah is also said to have Russian and Chinese-made anti-ship missiles, as well as air defense missiles to repel Israeli warplanes.

Launchers and ammunition depots destroyed

In addition to the Hezbollah command center, the Israeli Air Force has so far destroyed missile launchers and ammunition depots that its intelligence services were able to locate. Nearly 1,600 targets were hit on Monday alone, 70 ammunition depots on Tuesday. But Hezbollah still managed to launch 300 missiles and rockets at Israel on the same day, such is its arsenal.

In southern Lebanon, in 48 hours, the Israeli army also claims to have destroyed hundreds of Hezbollah launch pads. At the end of 2023, the number of launch pads pointed towards the Hebrew state was estimated at some 120,000.

An uncertain human toll

As Hezbollah continues to fire rockets into Israeli territory, this escalation raises the question of the losses suffered by the pro-Iranian organization. The bombings on Lebanon have already left at least 558 dead, including 50 children and 94 women. On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, a strike hit the town of Jieh near the capital, killing a military leader of the Shiite movement.

But the human toll is uncertain, as the organization has not yet communicated the identity or number of its fighters killed in the Israeli strikes. What is certain, however, is that much of its infrastructure has been affected. In southern Lebanon, several roads have been made impassable, and some residents say that even bridges have been destroyed.

Senior officers killed in Israeli strikes

Hezbollah is also facing targeted assassinations of its military high command. On Tuesday in Beirut, an Israeli strike in a residential area of ​​the southern suburbs again targeted one of its senior officers. According to Israel, he is Ibrahim Kobeissi, commander of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket force. This is the third such strike in less than a week on the south of the capital, in a war that is weakening Hezbollah as much as it is terrifying and striking the civilian population.