The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group said Wednesday that nowhere in Israel would be safe if a full-fledged war breaks out between the two foes, while also threatening Cyprus and other parts of the Mediterranean.
Speaking at a ceremony commemorating slain Hezbollah senior commander Taleb Abdullah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon last week alongside three other operatives, Nasrallah commented on the escalating conflict with the Jewish state, and said the Shiite terror group does not want “total war” but is only acting in support of Hamas.
Hezbollah has been attacking northern Israel since October 8, leading to Israeli reprisals and an escalating conflict Israel has increasingly warned could spark open war.
Were Israel to launch a large-scale offensive against the Lebanese terror group, it must prepare for attacks from the ground, the air and the sea, and the “situation in the Mediterranean will change completely,” Nasrallah vowed.
“No place” in Israel would be spared from the group’s weapons in case of a full-blown war, Nasrallah warned, saying Hezbollah will fight with “no rules” and “no ceilings” and adding: “The enemy knows well that we have prepared ourselves for the worst… and that no place… will be spared from our rockets.”
Israel “knows that what also awaits it in the Mediterranean is very big,” Nasrallah added, without elaborating, possibly insinuating the group could attack its offshore gas rigs.
Nasrallah also threatened Cyprus for the first time, saying it had been allowing Israel to use its airports and bases for military exercises and that Hezbollah could consider it “a part of the war” and strike it were it to allow the IDF to use logistical infrastructure in the country to attack Lebanon.
“Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon would mean that the Cypriot government is part of the war, and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war,” he said.
Cyprus is not known to offer any land or base facilities to the Israeli military, but has in the past allowed Israel to use its airspace to occasionally conduct air drills, though never during conflict.
There are two British bases in Cyprus, which was a colony until 1960. They have been used for operations in Syria and more recently, Yemen, and the Cypriot government has no say in the matter. According to Hebrew media reports, British Royal Air Force fighter jets and refueling aircraft took off from bases in Cyprus to help thwart a massive drone and missile attacklaunched by Iran against Israel in mid-April.
Flaunting technological advances
Following Hezbollah’s publication on Tuesday of footage allegedly filmed from one of its reconnaissance drones flying over northern Israel, Nasrallah claimed that the terror group has hours of such footage and of information about sensitive military targets inside Israel, including some that are located far from the northern border.
Among such targets are military bases and headquarters located deep inside Israeli territory, some of which have been camouflaged but were uncovered by Hezbollah’s drones, Nasrallah claimed.
On Wednesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi downplayed the publication of the drone footage, saying the IDF is “preparing and building solutions to deal with such capabilities,” and possesses “infinitely more powerful capabilities” that Hezbollah is not aware of.
In his speech, Nasrallah claimed that Israeli military leaders have known since October 8 that some of the sensitive targets inside Israeli territory would be targeted.
Among such targets, Nasrallah mentioned the Mount Meron air traffic control base, which in his words represented an “aspirational target” in the 2006 Second Lebanon War, and today is fully within reach of Hezbollah’s projectiles.
He further alleged that the terror group has developed and keeps manufacturing new missiles and drones, and that its human and military resources are greater than they have ever been.
No comments:
Post a Comment