Israel Has Destroyed 2/3 of Hizbollah's Heavy Missiles
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli forces have destroyed an estimated two thirds of Hizbollah's long-range missile capabilities, a senior government official told Reuters on Monday.
The Iranian-supplied Zelzal-2 missiles have been Israel's main strategic concern during an a 20-day-old fight with the Lebanese guerrilla group. They have a range of 200 km (125 miles) and are believed capable of carrying biological or chemical warheads.
"We know how many of them we destroyed and we know how many they shot," the senior government official said.
'Hizbullah has only few launchers left'
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Most Long, Medium-Range Rockets Destroyed
Day 20: Security forces say Hizbullah's long and medium-range rocket capability suffered major blow. Number of rockets fired at Haifa halves; launching cells shoved north of the Litani River. Zelzal missile system also takes hit.
The relative quiet in the Haifa and Krayot area is not coincidental, as the IDF revealed new figures Monday showing that Hizbullah's 220 millimeter rocket system has taken a heavy blow. The number of rockets of that type fired at Haifa have gone down from 400 to 200.
In addition, a senior government source told Reuters that the IDF destroyed two thirds of Hizbullah's Zelzal missiles.
Figures for the short-term rockets are less encouraging, however. Hizbullah still holds 10,000 such rockets.
Almost three weeks have passed since the start of fighting in the north, and the IDF has identified a certain difficulty among Hizbullah members in launching medium-range rockets. With that, however, Hizbullah's short-term rocket capability has not been significantly damaged.
Three weeks ago, Hizbullah had 13,000 short-term rockets. After firing 1,500 rockets Israel, and additional 1,500 destroyed by the IDF, the organization still has 10,000 rockets that can reach the frontline. The rockets have a diameter of 107 and 122 millimeters.
These rockets' ability to cause damage is relatively limited, as they can carry only seven kilograms of explosives.
In this category, the IDF's strike has not been significant as the rockets are fired from many areas and still exist in high numbers. With that, they reach a range of the front line alone and cannot reach Haifa and the Krayot area.
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