Hezbollah claims it has six-fold increase in speed of weapons delivery

Hezbollah has increased the speed with which it can stockpile weapons, one of its senior officials told Al Mayadeen, a pro-Iranian news channel based in Beirut.

This is important because Hezbollah has carried out thousands of attacks against Israel over the past five months. It has used thousands of rockets, anti-tank missiles, and drones to target Israel.

Nawaf al-Mousawi, Hezbollah’s head of “Resources and Borders,” said Hezbollah is now capable of receiving as many weapons in a month as it used to receive in six months, Al Mayadeen reported.

“He revealed that what the Lebanese Resistance group used to deliver to its storage facilities in a period of half a year is now being delivered within a month, highlighting that Hezbollah continues to build new storage facilities and bring in new missiles, ones that are more accurate and of new types for naval, ground, and aerial use,” the report said.

Mousawi contrasted Hezbollah’s ability to resupply itself with weapons with what he said was Israel’s logistical challenges. He said Israel “does not have the logistical ability to strike Lebanon, nor does it have the ability to strike Gaza, were it not for the [US air bridge] that works daily to supply Israeli occupation forces with weapons and ammunition.”

Hezbollah hoping war will end in Gaza, it seems

Hezbollah is in touch with “major international powers,” he said, adding that it has been speaking with Hamas in Gaza, the report said. Previous reports had said Hezbollah was in touch with Hamas after October 7 and had discussed whether to enter the war and back Hamas. Instead, Hezbollah began smaller attacks against Israel, short of a full-scale war.

Mousawi has spoken to the media in the past about Hezbollah’s ties with Hamas and the issue of whether it should enter the war. He says Hezbollah will not abandon the Palestinians in Gaza, which means they will continue attacks on Israel.

Clearly, Hezbollah is weighing this issue, because it continues to suffer losses from Israeli strikes when the IDF retaliates for its attacks.

“Since October 8, 2023, Hezbollah’s Resistance fighters have been attacking Israeli occupation forces and military sites along the border with occupied Palestine, in support of the people of Gaza and the Palestinian Resistance,” Al Mayadeen reported. “The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon has reiterated that it will suspend its operations against Israeli targets once the ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip ends.”

This appears to show that Hezbollah hopes this will be the outcome. It doesn’t want a huge war, but it has also caused 80,000 Israelis to evacuate northern Israel, a major change from past conflicts.

Mousawi hinted that Hezbollah has “new weapons” that it has been using against Israel. The weapons, including missiles, are more accurate and can be used in the maritime or ground domain, he said, adding that Hezbollah is also acquiring drones.

“International players, including the United States, have asked Hezbollah to engage in direct dialogue, affirming that the Lebanese Resistance party has declined these requests,” Mousawi was quoted as saying.

The interview shows how Hezbollah is calculating its actions. It is working with Hamas and values the influence and power that has come through its attacks on Israel.

Hezbollah also is bragging about its weapons stockpile, which may be propaganda designed to show that it is not running out of certain types of munitions. 

Seth Frantzman is the author of Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machine, Artificial Intelligence and the Battle for the Future (Bombardier 2021) and an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies.