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Hizbullah Readying for Urban War in Southern Lebanon
(Ha'aretz) Anshel Pfeffer - Israel's military on Wednesday offered evidence of the growing Hizbullah threat in southern Lebanon, using aerial images to highlight the group's activities in towns and villages close to the Israeli border. IDF Col. Ronen Marley revealed previously classified photographs showing a unit of 90 Hizbullah militants storing weapons close to hospitals and schools in the village of al-Khiam. "Every day they are engaged in digging, building and laying communications infrastructure to prepare themselves for war," Marley said. The deployment of UN forces in the countryside has forced Hizbullah into built-up areas where UNIFIL troops have no authority. The IDF believes Hizbullah has an arsenal of 40,000 rockets stored in towns and villages south of the Litani River, with many of the weapons stored in private houses. Hizbullah has 20,000 armed men, a third of which have undergone combat training in Iran. Every Shi'a Muslim village had a detachment of between 30 and 200 fighters.