About a decade ago, Hezbollah launched a special secret project: they offered residents of southern Lebanon to allocate a room in their home in exchange for a regular rental fee for a very special tenant.

The tenant was not a human being but a relatively long-range cruise missile equipped with a heavy warhead with hundreds of pounds of explosives. Cruise missiles are dangerous because they fly faster and lower than other Hezbollah rockets which fly at a slower pace in an arch trajectory.

The missile, stored on a launcher in a room with a roof that could quickly be removed, would be ready to launch within minutes.

Ynet reported that Hezbollah scouted out impoverished Shia families in villages near Tyre, Sidon, and even south of Beirut. The project expanded over time and Hezbollah even purchased land and constructed homes specifically for this purpose and then offered them free or at a nominal fee to Shia families prepared to live under the same roof with missiles with warheads.

Some of these missiles are designated to reach central Israel. Hundreds are located in areas south of Beirut, ready to be fired by Hezbollah operatives from special units.

Hezbollah has never fired these missiles to date, saving them for a “surprise” for Israel’s home front, including central Israel, and to target military and civilian infrastructure without warning.

Until now, Hezbollah believed that Israel was unaware of the existence of these missiles or were aware but could not locate them. However, Israel was well aware of the missiles and their locations but refrained from striking them for several reasons:

1. To avoid harming “innocent” Lebanese civilians, who although agreed to host the missiles, are non-combatants.

2. From past experience in Gaza, the IDF learned that striking civilian areas causes numerous casualties and widespread destruction, providing Hezbollah with propaganda against Israel.

3. Since the missiles are equipped with heavy warheads, attacking them previously would have elicited a strong Hezbollah response, potentially leading to an all-out war.

Watch IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari explain the phenomenon below:

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)