By Shahrokh Saei
An Israeli official says Hezbollah can make Israel ‘uninhabitable in 72 hours’
TEHRAN- As Israel’s saber-rattling against Lebanon’s Hezbollah heats up, the regime’s vulnerability in case of a possible full-blown conflict with the resistance movement is thrust into the public spotlight.
An Israeli official has warned that Hezbollah can make Israel “uninhabitable in 72 hours”.
The head of the company responsible for planning Israel’s electrical systems made the comment on Thursday.
“We are not in a good situation, and we are not prepared for a real war. We are living in a fantasy,” Shaul Goldstein, who leads Israel’s Independent System Operator Ltd, known by its Hebrew initials NOGA, was cited as saying by Israeli media.
He added, “We cannot promise electricity if there is a war in the north. After 72 hours without electricity, it will be impossible to live here. We are not prepared for a real war.”
Goldstein was responding to a question on whether he could guarantee continuous power in an emergency scenario if Israel goes to direct war with Hezbollah.
The official admitted that Hezbollah is able to neutralize Israel’s power grid like a piece of cake.
“If Nasrallah (Hezbollah’s leader) decides to paralyze Israel’s power grid, he only needs to pick up the phone and call the head of Beirut’s power grid, which is [technically] identical to Israel’s,” Goldstein said.
Hezbollah intelligence superiority
Goldstein’s comments come two days after Hezbollah published footage from its reconnaissance drones flying over northern Israel, including Haifa port.
The roughly 10 minutes of video shows how the aircraft was able to capture footage and expose sensitive Israeli military sites without being detected by the regime’s anti-air systems.
The successful mission humiliated Israel and highlighted the regime’s vulnerability as it is beating the drums of an all-out war with Hezbollah.
Israel’s empty rhetoric
Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech on Wednesday that the movement has hours of such footage and information about sensitive military targets in Israel.
He also said Hezbollah “Hoopoe” drones have uncovered military bases and headquarters located deep inside Israel, some of which have been camouflaged.
Nasrallah further issued a stern warning to Israel in the face of its war rhetoric against Lebanon warning nowhere in Israel would be safe in case of a major offensive against Lebanon.
Support for Palestine
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since the regime declared war on Gaza on October 7.
The Lebanese resistance movement has reiterated that it won’t stop attacks against Israel unless the regime ends its Gaza onslaught which has so far claimed the lives of more than 37,400 Palestinians.
Over the past months, Israeli officials have threatened Lebanon with a full-fledged war if Hezbollah does not halt its attacks.
The latest of such threats came hours after Hezbollah released the drone footage on Tuesday.
“We are very close to the moment of decision to change the rules against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely hit,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said.
Wishful thinking
Katz has vowed to “destroy” Hezbollah.
Since October 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly promised to “destroy” Hamas.
But after nearly nine months, his hopes have fallen flat amid rising support for the resistance group.
He also dissolved the Israeli war cabinet earlier this week amid growing divisions over his failure to defeat Hamas.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military spokesman exposed a widening rift between Israel’s political and army leadership and poured cold water on Netanyahu’s dreams of eliminating Hamas.
“This business of destroying Hamas, making Hamas disappear — it’s simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.
He added, “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people — anyone who thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong,” he continued.
Israeli officials have admitted that the regime is incapable of defeating Hamas.
So how can Israel “destroy” Hezbollah which is by far stronger than resistance groups in Gaza?
Hezbollah military might
Israel was humiliated and had to retreat its forces following a war it launched against Hezbollah in 2006.
Since then, the movement has considerably boosted its military capabilities.
Citing the World Factbook of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Reuters reported on Thursday that Hezbollah's military strength is underpinned by upwards of 150,000 missiles and rockets of various types and ranges.
Nasrallah has also said that the number of fighters who are ready to join a possible war against Israel has exceeded 100,000.
Israel was only able to continue the 2006 war for 34 days. And now according to Goldstein, Israel can be “uninhabitable” in just three days if the regime engages in another direct war with Hezbollah.
Hence, the doomsday clock for Israel’s destruction would start ticking if the Netanyahu regime carried out its threat and went to war with Lebanon.
The possibility of such a scenario could also turn Israeli cities into the graveyard for the regime’s soldiers.
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