Hezbollah chieftain: Once great IDF is now mere ‘Hollywood army’

“[The IDF] has become weak, debilitated, feeble and cowardly,” Nasrallah said.

By World Israel News Staff

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah ridiculed the Israel Defense Forces as a “Hollywood Army” in a Tuesday speech marking a Muslim holiday. “Let’s see how many Hollywood shows you can perform,” he said.

“The legendary and invincible [IDF] has turned into a Hollywood army, acting in movies, because it has become weak, debilitated, feeble and cowardly,” Nasrallah said.

The terror chieftain was referring to Israel’s staged evacuation of wounded soldiers following a Hezbollah missile attack on an IDF vehicle in northern Israel on Sept. 1.

The anti-tank missile missed its intended target, an armored Israeli ambulance. But Israel filmed two bandaged soldiers as they were evacuated by helicopter to a hospital. The staged event was meant to convince Hezbollah that it had taken sufficient revenge for an earlier Israeli airstrike, Israeli pundits said.

Hezbollah started celebrating. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the same day said, “We have no casualties – not even a scratch.” 

Lebanese media, which had dutifully reported Hezbollah’s claims, immediately adopted Israel’s version of events.

Netanyahu’s revelation didn’t stop Nasrallah from giving a victory speech the next day, on the evening of Sept 2. His followers bore signs “Victory is from God” and a convoy of Hezbollah-supporters drove beeping their horns in celebration.

However, the Hezbollah leader has since accepted that Israel faked the evacuation of wounded soldiers. It appears he doesn’t like being fooled, saying in his speech:

“You are saying to us: ‘Next time, don’t strike one military vehicle and don’t strike only in one place. Instead, hit more than one military vehicle and hit more than one place.’ We are not going to see anymore Hollywood films.”

Nasrallah also warned Israel against further attacks on Hezbollah or Iran.

“We reject any war against the Islamic Republic of Iran because such a war will set the region alight, destroy countries and peoples and target the whole axis of resistance,” he said.

“Those who think that such a war will be the end of the axis of resistance, I tell them: With the force of this axis, its perseverance, truth, sincerity, determination and sacrifice, such a war will mean the end of Israel and American hegemony and presence in our region.”