Israel Has Destroyed Half of Hezbollah’s Arsenal, U.S. and Israeli Officials Say

Israel’s recent airstrikes in Lebanon destroyed about half of the missiles and rockets that Hezbollah had accumulated over more than three decades, dealing a blow to the militia’s capabilities, according to senior Israeli and American officials.

But the group’s arsenal remains formidable, with tens of thousands of projectiles across the country, and large barrages could overwhelm Israel’s “Iron Dome” anti-projectile defense system, the officials said.

Hezbollah scattered its weapons across Lebanon — the country is “peppered” with them, one Israeli official said — and has been using them since last October to fire mainly into northern Israel.

Israel had been making strikes in southern Lebanon, forcing tens of thousands of Lebanese to flee. But Israeli leaders decided around Sept. 17 to destroy as much of the arsenal as possible, so that the 60,000 or so Israelis who had fled northern Israel because of the persistent fire could return, two Israeli officials said. The Israeli Air Force began devastating strikes the next week.

Hezbollah, with help from Iran, took three decades to build up most of its stockpile, estimated to be anywhere from 120,000 to 200,000 projectiles. After the initial attacks, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, asked Iran and Syria to replenish the arsenal, the Israeli officials and an American official said. That contributed to Israel’s decision to try to kill Mr. Nasrallah.

Since Mr. Nasrallah’s killing last Friday, Lebanese officials have heeded Israel’s demands to turn away Iranian planes trying to fly into Beirut, complicating Hezbollah’s effort to get additional arms quickly, American officials say.