Israel: Hezbollah Rockets Can Reach Be'er Sheva

Israel believes Hezbollah has missiles that can hist most of Israel, and which could even strike Be'er Sheva under optimum conditions.

Iran supplied Hezbollah with solid-fuel, Zelzal-2 missiles with a 200-km range, but these are not very accurate, since they do not have a self-guidance system.

The Zelzal-2 missiles, intended to strike broad targets such as communities and cities, are equipped with explosive warheads weighing up to 600 kilograms.

The missiles are a later version of the Zelzal-1 missiles, which Iran first displayed in September, 2005 at a military parade in Tehran, together with six Shihab-3 missiles.

Hezbollah's original Katyusha rockets had a range of 12-to-22 kms. At a later stage, it obtained Iranian Fajar-3 and Fajar-5 rockets, with a range of 45 and 75 km, respectively. Hezbollah did not use these rockets until the current conflict.

The organization also has Syrian-made 22-mm. rockets with a range of several dozen kilometers.

The rockets that hit Haifa yesterday did not come as a complete surprise: the Israel Defense Forces knew Hezbollah had rockets with that range, but were surprised that the organization opted to use them.

The head of Military Intelligence reported two years ago that Hezbollah has 13,000 rockets, most with a 25-km range, about 500 with a range of 45-to-75 km., and a few dozen with a 115-km range. The rockets were stored in several strategic places in the Beka'a Valley, and some were deployed along the Israeli border.