Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said on Monday that Israel will cease to exist if conflict erupts with the Iran-backed terror groups surrounding the Jewish state.
“If the battle develops into a battle with the axis of resistance, there will be no such thing as Israel,” the Lebanese-based terror leader remarked in a televised speech marking 17 years since the end of the Second Lebanon War.
The “axis of resistance” refers to Hezbollah, Hamas and other Iranian-backed terror groups on Israel’s borders.
Nasrallah also responded to threats by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to return Lebanon to the “stone age” should a conflict erupt with Hezbollah, warning Israeli leaders that “if you go to war with Lebanon, you will return to the stone age.”
Israeli Knesset member Danny Danon, chairman of the World Likud, was not impressed, stating on Tuesday, “It seems the thin air in Nasrarallah’s bunker is causing him some confusion. If Hezbollah attempts to harm Israel in any way we will bring Lebanon back to the Stone Age and Hezbollah will be buried under the ruins of Lebanon.”
Nasrallah also claimed that Israel’s military was “in its worst shape in history,” and had been “weakened” since the 2006 war.
“After 17 years of attempts, preparation, and development, the Israelis have been unable to restore the image of the Israeli army,” Nasrallah asserted.
Israeli civilians, too, he added, were not prepared for a conflict.
“Despite the threats that are heard from the leaders and army commanders in Israel, the Israeli home front is not ready for war,” he said.
The comments come amid ongoing provocations by Hezbollah operatives at the Israel-Lebanon border, including on Sunday evening when Israeli forces fired warning shots at a Hezbollah terrorist who had thrown a firebomb into Israeli territory.
The attack, which took place near the Israeli border town of Metula, did not cause any injuries, but damaged water infrastructure near the security fence, according to the Israeli military.
