Barak: Hezbollah’s arsenal bigger than before war

By · January 8, 2008

Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal is bigger now than before its 2006 war with Israel, Ehud Barak said.

“Hezbollah has learned the lessons of the Second Lebanon War,” the Israeli defense minister told a security conference in Tel Aviv on Monday. “Today, Hezbollah has more rockets than before the war.”

The Iranian-backed Lebanese militia’s arsenal of more than 10,000 rockets was a strategic asset against Israel during the 34-day conflict, though many of the missiles were destroyed on the ground in air strikes.

Barak noted that, contrary to the situation before the war, Hezbollah and its weaponry are now based north of the Litani River, making for a de-facto buffer zone with Israel.

Hezbollah was previously arrayed in southern Lebanon, on the border with Israel, allowing it to fire short-range rockets freely into the Jewish state.