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Close to 65,000 Missiles Aimed at Israel, Army Says

Nearly 65,000 missiles and rockets are targeted at Israel, nearly all of them in the arsenal of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbullah, while the most deadly are based in Syria and Iran. Brig. Gen. Itay Baron, head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Military Intelligence research section, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday that Syria and Iran have some 3,500 missiles aimed at Israel. Baron said Iran has an arsenal of 450 missiles in striking distance of Israel while Syria has 3,000 rockets and missiles in ranges from 70 to 700 kilometers (43 to 430 miles). In separate remarks, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Naveh said at a conference that Hezbullah is armed with some 60,000 rockets and missiles, 10 times what it had at the time of the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Baron said Hezbullah and Syria, as well as the Gaza Strip-based Hamas movement, hope to overcome Israel’s military and technological superiority by targeting its civilian population.