Prior to the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, he asked Iran and Syria to refill the terror organization's missile stockpile, the New York Times reported on Thursday. This message convinced Israel that he had to be assassinated.
Prior to that, Hezbollah, with the help of Iran, had built most of its rocket array over three decades. It was estimated that the stockpile contained between 120,000 and 200,000 rockets.
The report also stated that "the Israeli operation succeeded beyond the expectations of American officials. Israel has significantly harmed Hezbollah's ability to attack deep inside the country and significantly weakened its political and military leadership."
But according to the same American sources, Israel has failed to eliminate Hezbollah's short-range rocket infrastructure. As long as the rocket fire continues, Israel's operation will not succeed in achieving one of its main goals – securing the north of the country, so that tens of thousands of residents can return to their homes in the area.
Hezbollah maintains the ability to fire 100 missiles or rockets a day into northern Israel. The short-range munitions are easy to conceal and difficult to locate. "Eliminating it would require Israel to significantly expand its military activity and mobilize more extensive reserve forces," the Times wrote.
