JERUSALEM - The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has significantly expanded its ability to strike deep into Israel with rockets that can now reach the Jewish state’s largest cities, and now possesses tens of thousands of projectiles, Israel’s army chief said yesterday.
The remarks by Major General Gabi Ashkenazi were the first official assessment of the guerrilla group’s capabilities since Israel seized a ship last week carrying weapons allegedly destined for Hezbollah.
Ashkenazi indicated that the arms bust had little effect in stopping what Israel says has been a massive arms buildup by the Iranian-backed militia since the sides fought a bitter monthlong war in 2006.
An official said that Ashkenazi told lawmakers yesterday that some of the rockets can fly up to 200 miles. That would put Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, as well as Israel’s nuclear reactor in the southern desert, within rocket range.
Alternatively, the official said, Hezbollah could pound Israeli towns and cities closer to the border from positions north of the Litani River, outside the area of south Lebanon policed by United Nations peacekeepers.
Ashkenazi was briefing the Israeli Parliament’s influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
