Hezbollah rockets could hit half of Israel: Ex-general

“We cannot just sit and get attacked and do nothing in response,” says ex-IDF general.

By World Israel News Staff

A former top IDF official said that Israel should be prepared for massive rocket attacks from the Hezbollah terror group, which he warned may strike half of the country.

Uzi Dayan, an ex-general who also served as an MK for the Likud party, said that war with Hezbollah is inevitable before the some 100,000 Israelis evacuated from communities along the northern border can return to their homes.

“In the North, our sovereignty is being violated on a daily basis,” Dayan told Radio 104.5FM. “We cannot just sit and get attacked and do nothing in response.”

Dayan stressed that the mass evacuations of Israelis within 7 kilometers (4 miles) of the Lebanese border may have been the wrong decision. As a result of the departure of the residents, Hezbollah is able to essentially strike civilian communities on a daily basis.

“This damages Israeli deterrence over time,” he said, stating that the only way Israel could restore security to the region would be to deploy IDF troops “between the northern communities, all the way to the Litani River.”

Dayan dismissed international reports that Israel and the terror group are working towards a ceasefire agreement that would see the end of hostilities and Israelis able to return home.

“We should be prepared for a rocket attack by Hezbollah that will spread across half of Israel,” Dayan said.

In return, Dayan said, “we need to attack Lebanon in general and Hezbollah specifically more harshly.”

He clarified that such a “harsh response in Lebanon means damaging its national infrastructure and energy sources.”

Dayan stressed that an offensive aimed at driving Hezbollah forces north of the Litani River would need to wait until the Israeli army has wrapped up its activity in the Gaza Strip.

“What needed to be done a month ago was an operation on both fronts, in the North and in the South. But now, Gaza takes precedence. Beirut will have to come after Gaza. We cannot just sit and get attacked and do nothing in response.”

IDFIsrael LebanonIsrael-Lebanon borderLebanonUzi Dayan