Recent attacks against Israel emanating from its northern borders with Lebanon and Syria indicate a different kind of threat. In a new opinion for Newsweek, CERL Advisory Council member Geoffrey S. Corn explains how a missile campaign from Hezbollah-controlled areas could overwhelm Israel’s missile defense system, Iron Dome, and pose a grave danger to civilians on all sides. According to Prof. Corn,

It is impossible to know, for sure, what the density of that missile threat is, but credible estimates put the number in the range of 150,000. This capacity enables Hezbollah to threaten Israel with a missile campaign that would rapidly overwhelm Iron Dome and necessitate prioritizing the protection of vital infrastructure at the expense of civilian exposure. And, while no one can know for certain how Israel would respond to that threat, it is highly likely that it would find itself having little choice but to conduct a major ground incursion into southern Lebanon to neutralize missile sites before they are used.

Geoffrey S. Corn is George R. Killam, Jr. chair of Criminal Law and director of the Center for Military Law and Policy, Texas Tech University School of Law; distinguished fellow, JINSA Gemunder Center for Defense & Strategy; member, Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law Advisory Council; and a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. Read his bio here.