BICOM

According to a report published in the Times this morning, the embattled Syrian regime is accelerating its supply of weapons to Hezbollah. The Times report reaffirms earlier claims regarding the types of weaponry being transported by Syria to Lebanon. These include the M-600 missile system, which would place the urban centres of central Israel within range, and a smaller number of Scud D missiles, which have a range of 700 km. However, the report supports claims made by the Figaro newspaper that the flow of weapons entering the Lebanese Beka’a Valley from Syria increased in March, when the uprising against the Assad regime in Syria began. Hezbollah is known to be deeply concerned regarding the possibility of the fall of Assad. Such an eventuality would remove the movement’s main local ally, and the main conduit for weapons arriving from Iran and North Korea. Therefore, as a provision against the situation in Syria continuing to rapidly deteriorate, Hezbollah has started moving weapons it has stocked across the border into southern Lebanon.

An unattributed intelligence report quoted by the Times said that “A new reality has dawned…This is the first time that a terror organisation has obtained a missile of this type, which … is considered ‘strategic'”. The report also noted that Syria is continuing its own efforts to develop sophisticated missile systems at a site built into Jebel Taqsis, a mountain near the city of Hama. The report is particularly noteworthy as it focuses on the role North Korean experts play in assembling Scud D missiles that are being provided to Hezbollah. The crucial role played by Pyongyang as the supplier of arms and technological know-how to Iran and its allies in the Middle East is well known to analysts in this field, but has received little attention in broader public discussion.

In other news, a total of six Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip fell on areas of southwest Israel yesterday. No injuries or damage were reported in the latest attacks. The rockets fell on open ground. The Color Red alert system, which gives civilians a warning of incoming rocket fire, was activated several times in the course of the day. Later in the afternoon, IAF aircraft responded to the attacks by targeting a number of Hamas targets in southern Gaza. The strikes targeted facilities in the areas of Gaza City and Khan Younis.