Hezbollah threatens to destroy Israeli army in future war

“We can strike Galilee or Golan; our choices are open,” said Hassan Nasrallah.

By Josh Plank, World Israel News

Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Hezbollah, on Saturday warned that the Israeli army would be destroyed in any future war with the Lebanon-based terrorist organization, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar news agency reported.

“The most major idiocy that Israeli commanders would commit is to make a decision to launch a war against Lebanon,” Nasrallah said in a televised address marking the fifteenth anniversary of the 2006 July War, known in Israel as the Second Lebanon War.

The comments came after days of cross-border strikes that began when three rockets were launched from Lebanon toward Israel on Wednesday. Israel responded with artillery fire and an airstrike by fighter jets on Thursday.

Nasrallah called the Israeli airstrike a “dangerous development.”

“Throughout 15 years, the Israeli enemy has not dared to stage an aerial attack on Lebanon, except for a conflicting strike on a border area between Lebanon and Syria in 2014,” he said.

Hezbollah on Friday fired a barrage of 20 rockets toward Israel, an attack that Nasrallah again took credit for in his Saturday speech.

“Yesterday, we chose to strike an open area and during the day. Then our retaliation was fully considered. We issued a statement in which we claimed responsibility for the operation, and we have the courage to announce our responsibility for any resisting action against the Israeli enemy,” he said.

The Hezbollah leader warned that the organization could target any area in the north of Israel. “We can strike Galilee or Golan; our choices are open,” he said.

Nasrallah said that Hezbollah is fully prepared for a war with Israel, despite Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis.

“To Israeli commanders I say: Don’t miscalculate by estimating that we are busy with our internal issues, no matter how pressuring these issues are. To us, it’s our responsibility to defend our people, so don’t bet on livelihood pressures on the Lebanese people,” he said.

He also warned Israel against “betting” on the disagreements between various Lebanese political factions.

Nasrallah called the detention of a Hezbollah rocket crew by Lebanese civilians on Friday “a regrettable and shameful incident that has dangerous indications.”

He praised the Hezbollah fighters involved in the incident as “highly disciplined,” and said, “I hoped that I could reach those fighters and kiss their hands and their foreheads.”

Nasrallah concluded by stressing the importance of abiding by COVID-19 health protocols, warning that the country’s religious Ashura ceremonies this year could be cancelled if the people don’t abide by government health measures.