Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned the Hezbollah leader of the Israeli army’s “lethal” force, in response to Hassan Nasrallah’s cautioning Israel against further strikes in Syria.
“The lethal striking force of the Israeli army stands facing Hezbollah,” the Israeli premier said at the beginning of a cabinet meeting.
In an interview with Al-Mayadeen channel on Saturday evening, the Hezbollah chief warned Israel against launching more military strikes on Syrian territory, a week after it attacked several positions across the war-torn country.
Nasrallah also said: “Don’t make an error of judgment and don’t lead the region towards war or a major clash,” adding that Hezbollah possessed “high-precision missiles” capable of hitting anywhere in Israel.
“We have had the ability to carry out the operation for years, and it became easier after our experience in Syria,” he added.
Since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, Israel repeatedly bombed military targets belonging to the Syrian army, Hezbollah and Iranian fighters. The latest attack occurred a week ago, when the Israeli army said it targeted warehouses and intelligence and training centers belonging to the Iranian Quds Force, in addition to ammunition warehouses, and a location at Damascus International Airport.
Netanyahu said Nasrallah was experiencing “great consternation” over Israel’s recent operation to uncover and destroy tunnels from Lebanon to Israel. He also spoke of what he called Hezbollah’s "financial distress".
“Believe me, Nasrallah has good reasons not to want to feel the might of our arm,” he told the cabinet meeting.
A month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in July 2006 led to the killing of around 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mainly soldiers.
