Senior defense officials say Hizbullah has dramatically increased its rocket range and now threatens most of Israel.
Hizbullah supporters fix their flag on top of their rocket models in Bourj Qalawi near the southern port city of Tyre.
Photo: AP [file]
The officials said the Lebanese group has acquired new Iranian rockets with a range of around 300 kilometers. That means they can hit anywhere in Israel's heavily populated center and reach as far as Dimona, where Israel's nuclear reactor is located.
Hizbullah fired nearly 4,000 rockets into Israel during the Second Lebanon War. Those rockets had a maximum range of some 70 kilometers.
The UN peacekeeping force dispatched to Lebanon after that war was meant to prevent Hizbullah from rearming. But the officials say Hizbullah now has many more rockets in its arsenal than the 14,000 it had before the conflict.
In early March, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reported Israeli claims that Hizbullah's arsenal includes 10,000 long-range rockets and 20,000 short-range rockets in southern Lebanon.
