At least 28 new missile launch sites operated by the Hezbollah terror group have been discovered in the environs of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital city, according to an Israeli research group.
The Alma Research and Education Centre, which specialises in security issues pertaining to Israel’s border with Lebanon, published a report on the findings on Monday, which revealed extensive use of civilian areas by Hezbollah for military purposes.
In a recent interview with The Jerusalem Post, Tal Beeri, head of the research department at Alma, underlined that “the world must understand and know that these launch sites are located at the heart of residential and urban civil infrastructure”.
The report itself stated that “almost all of the sites…are located in civilian neighbourhoods, inside private houses, medical centres, churches, industrial sites, public offices, fast food chains, as well as in open spaces nearby”, with the intent of using the local population as “human shields”.
Estimates were also made of Hezbollah’s total arsenal, which included 600 Fateh-110 missiles. These have a range of up to 250-350 km, enough to hit any area in Israel up to the northern Negev region.
The new revelations came five days after Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, threatened to “do anything to block and prevent the annexation plan”, referring to Israel’s potential annexation of parts of the West Bank, which has yet to be confirmed.
Last month, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to strike Israeli cities including Tel Aviv with precision-guided missiles in a video released on social media. The video showed satellite images of various targets in Israel and alleged coordinates of Israeli military sites.
