The high cost of defense: Israel spends $120 million to counter Hezbollah's $1.34 million attack

Report by Ahmad Abdallah, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

Hezbollah's response to the assassination of Fouad Shokor and Israel's preemptive strike can be summed up as a costly defense against a much less expensive attack. 

In numbers, Hezbollah launched 340 Katyusha rockets, each costing around $1,000, bringing the total cost of the missiles to approximately $340,000. 

Additionally, Hezbollah employed around 100 drones during the attack, each valued at about $10,000. If Hezbollah used 100 drones, the total cost would be $1,000,000. Altogether, Hezbollah's operation is estimated to have cost $1.34 million. 

Conversely, Israel's preemptive strike was significantly more expensive, costing around $120 million. This included deploying 100 fighter jets, each operating for six hours at about $180,000, totaling $18 million. 

According to Israel's Globes website, Israel also used approximately 4,000 JDAM bombs, each priced at $25,000, resulting in a cost of $100 million. 

Moreover, operating drones for 12 hours cost around $1.08 million.

This stark contrast in costs highlights the disparity in military and financial resources between the two sides. Israel relies on a huge military budget with support from the United States, while Hezbollah relies mostly on Iranian funding.