Western intelligence officials believe that Iran has stepped up its shipments of advanced weapons to Hezbollah, its Lebanon-based proxy, and that some shipments now include sophisticated GPS systems meant to improve the accuracy of Hezbollah missiles, Fox News reported Friday.
According to the report, one of the shipments arrived in Lebanon three days ago and included GPS components that can significantly upgrade the Shiite terrorist group's current missile arsenal by turning rockets into precision-guided projectiles, thus increasing the threat to Israel.
The Israeli defense establishment believes Hezbollah is in possession of some 100,000 rockets and missiles that can target the entire country.
According to the report, the shipment made its way from Tehran to Damascus aboard a Qeshm Fars Air cargo plane. From there, the plane made its way to Beirut, before returning to Iran via Qatar.
The airline is believed to be a shell company established to circumvent the embargo placed on weapons shipments to Hezbollah.
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that the Iranian-backed terrorist group was building weapons production facilities in the heart of Lebanese capital, including near the Beirut's international airport.
Israeli military intelligence believes that over the past year, Hezbollah has been investing considerable resources in developing the necessary infrastructure to convert surface-to-surface missiles into precision-guided projectiles.
Satellite images released by the IDF show that a major compound is under construction in the Uzai neighborhood, near Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport.
Another facility is being built under the local football stadium, and a third is under construction in an area that is merely 30 meters (100 feet) from one of the airport's runways, the images show.
In addition to these three major sites, Hezbollah is also building smaller facilities in other neighborhoods in Beirut as well as on its outskirts, knowingly placing the local civilian population at risk, the IDF said.
