Hezbollah Official: Our Missiles Can Reach All of Israel

A senior Hezbollah official threatened on February 19 that the Iran-backed group’s missiles can reach all of Israel, not only the north. Hassan Fadlallah, who is also a member of Lebanon’s parliament, said during an interview with the Qatari-funded news outlet Al-Jazeera that “Israel is not in a position to set conditions. Every point in Israel is within the range of Hezbollah missiles. The resistance has prepared all scenarios and is ready for the worst possibilities.”

Fadlallah’s statement comes as clashes between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have increased in frequency and lethality. The statement also mirrors the threats delivered by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah during a televised address on February 16.

Expert Analysis

“Hezbollah’s continued threats to target all of Israel with missiles show how egregiously the Iranian-backed terrorist group exploits Lebanon as a base for its illegal rocket arsenal. Hezbollah has stockpiled masses of rockets, armed drones, anti-tank missiles, and precision-guided munitions in recent years. Hezbollah has fired more than 2,000 rockets at Israel since it chose to back Hamas’s brutal attack in October. Hezbollah’s continued threats show that it is not deterred and is willing to risk catastrophic escalation in the region. The terrorist group must be deterred, and Israel should be supported in operations against Hezbollah.” — Seth J. Frantzman, FDD Adjunct Fellow

“The Hezbollah threat is felt by Israelis all over the country. No one is more aware of the threat than the tens of thousands of Israelis who have been displaced from their homes in northern Israel. This war will not be over for Israelis until Hezbollah is removed from southern Lebanon and — perhaps more importantly — the government of Israel can assure Israeli families that the nightmare that befell their countrymen on October 7 will not happen again in the north.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting two parallel wars since October 8. The first, and more obvious, is the war of attrition initiated that day by Hezbollah along the border. But the second is a shadow war over the red lines governing the broader conflict between the two adversaries — one which is seeing deeper attacks into each side’s territory and the assassination of high-ranking Hezbollah commanders. The group’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has said Hezbollah will make Israel pay ‘blood for blood’ for these attacks, making this shadow war contain the seeds of unintended escalation.” — David Daoud, FDD Senior Fellow

Increased Hezbollah Rocket Barrages

As the IDF’s operation in the Gaza Strip continues, attacks by Hezbollah into Israel’s northern communities have lately surpassed rocket attacks from Hamas. Shortly after Hamas’s October 7 massacre in Israel, the Israeli government evacuated more than 80,000 civilians from communities along the Israeli-Lebanese border as Hezbollah began attacking Israel. Hezbollah is believed to have stockpiles of more than 150,000 rockets and long-range missiles aimed at Israel, in addition to an air defense system.

On February 14, a Hezbollah rocket barrage killed a female Israeli soldier and wounded eight others near the city of Safed. The IDF responded over the next several days by conducting widespread airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, killing two senior Hezbollah operatives on February 15. On February 19, Israel conducted airstrikes against two Hezbollah weapons caches in Sidon after a Hezbollah-launched drone exploded 15 miles into Israel.

Israel Calls for International Action on Hezbollah

Israel has asked the international community to intervene and persuade Hezbollah to move its forces and weapons away from the Israeli-Lebanese frontier, preferably north of the Litani River as required by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. The international community, led by France, has offered a compromise proposal that proposes to distance Hezbollah 10 km from the border, which would then be free of arms except for those of the Lebanese Armed Forces and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon — in partial compliance with the resolution.

In his speech last week, Nasrallah scoffed at the prospect, saying that “it would be easier to bring the river to the border, than Hezbollah to the river.” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned on February 16, “If a diplomatic solution is not found, Israel will be forced to act in order to remove Hezbollah from the border and return our residents to their homes. In such a case, Lebanon will also pay a heavy price.”

Related Analysis

“Israel Strikes Hezbollah Weapons Caches in Lebanon,” FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Kills Senior Hezbollah Commander, Deputy in Strike,” FDD Flash Brief

“One Killed and Eight Wounded in Hezbollah Attack on Northern Israel,” FDD Flash Brief

“France Proposes Lebanon Border Deal,” FDD Flash Brief