Israeli General Says Hizbullah Threat Greater than Gaza

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Hizbullah is more dangerous than militant groups operating in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli army general said, expressing belief that the party has dug tunnels across the border from Lebanon in preparation for any future war with the Jewish State.

As a result of the greater threat from Hizbullah and in the event of a future conflict, the Israeli army will have to take “many more decisive acts and employ much more power” than it did in Gaza, Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan, commander of Israeli forces on the Lebanese and Syrian fronts, told Army Radio on Wednesday.

Golan said Hizbullah, which has sent its fighters to Syria to help the regime of President Bashar Assad against the rebels, was unlikely to seek a renewed conflict with Israel.

If a war took place, then the Jewish state would hit Lebanese targets hard. However, it would also suffer from a Hizbullah rocket arsenal believed to be 10 times more potent than Hamas', he said.

About the suspected tunnels, he told Army Radio: "We have no positive information.”

"That said, this idea of going below ground is not foreign to Lebanon and is not foreign to Hizbullah and so we have to suppose as a working assumption that there are tunnels. These have to be looked for and prepared for."

Addressing the threat posed by Hizbullah’s arsenal, Golan said Israelis need to understand that the army “will not be able to provide the same umbrella (air defenses) that it provided in the south by the Iron Dome” anti-missile defense system.

“I assess that we will be able to intercept mainly the rockets and heavy missiles, and less the regular rockets. The biggest challenge regarding the Israeli home front at the moment is to explain that a clash in the North will not look like a clash in the South. There will be many more hits to the home front,” he said.

"We and Hizbullah are conducting a kind of mutual-deterrence balance," Golan added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon was incapable of implementing its mission in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1701.

He told the Knesset that the peacekeepers' mandate to stop Hizbullah's arsenal from growing was not successful.

G.K.

H.K.

Comments 24
Thumb EagleDawn 30 October 2014, 08:13

sure sure, partners and allies always speak well of each other.

Thumb _mowaten_ 30 October 2014, 10:45

lol still peddling that myth around? i really wonder who can fall for it.

Thumb _mowaten_ 30 October 2014, 10:47

"We and Hizbullah are conducting a kind of mutual-deterrence balance," Golan added.

Exactly, and what would happen if the pro-zionists in lebanon got what they want (disarm hezbollah)? This explains why so much effort and funding is put into anti-HA propaganda and internal conflict incistement. israel is desperate to get rid of that deterrence.

Missing helicopter 30 October 2014, 09:17

If a war took place, then the Jewish state would hit Lebanese targets hard.....

In other war we will hit the airport, bridges,LAF, power stations and whatever infrastructure exists (but not HA's strongholds and targets) to further weaken the State, cripple the country so HA emerges even stronger on the Lebanese scene giving the illusion that they protected Lebanon while the HA/Israel charade continues.

Thumb Mystic 30 October 2014, 10:12

You fail to recognize the amount of damage Israel will suffer. Yes Lebanon would be bombed. But not your families and houses, people like you guys will hold hands, and pray for Israeli victory.

Thumb -phoenix1 30 October 2014, 13:01

Mystic, I must partially disagree with you here. The issue remains an unfair contest between HA and Israel, should Israel unleash its might instead of a low-intensity war, HA stands NO chance dear brother. Israhell will obliterate HA in no time. But that too means that Lebanon will be obliterated. Mystic, let's put things as they are: Sayed Hassan will be kept perfectly safe in his bunker, and so would all his top cadres, so sure, war they can. But you ya Mystic, you the normal Lebanese citizen, and me, the normal Lebanese citizen, how safe are we? Israhell is like Daesh, it's supported by the West and the US, it kills then says it's victim. let's just not confound lines anymore, the Lebanese Army is more than capable of keeping the peace, the truce and any provocations from our southernly neighbor. Yes, the LAF cannot face off Israel, and so can't Hezbollah.

Thumb al.finique 30 October 2014, 13:07

bro spot on again. This is the reason why more and more people are asking of the Army to suspend the constitution and declare Marshall Law throughout the land. Let there be Military Rule, let the army arrest all of the politicians, all of them, be they M8, M14 and whatever other crooked thieves still remain on the lose and let us all live again under the same law, under the same justice. Let the army have no mercy on anyone who breaks the law, let the army rule with an iron fist and let it hit as hard as need be. 5 years of military rule, and Lebanon will regain its sovereignty and independence, from all the mafia crooks that have subjugated this country to all their unbelievable whims and caprices. let the army return to us the people our pride and dignity. Today the people of Lebanon want their peace and only the army will bring it, send the politicians to hell if need be, all of them.

Thumb _mowaten_ 30 October 2014, 13:53

i disagree phoenix, israel tried the full on assault in 2006 and got spanked. yes they tagerted civilians and civilian infrastructure in reprisal, but this is similar to hostage taking situations, where they try to force your hand by threatening innocents, it's unacceptable to bow to that.

Default-user-icon geha (Guest) 30 October 2014, 14:04

mowaten, you sound like an immature kid completely disconnected from reality, just trying to build some silly rationale based on bits & pieces of propaganda and lies.

Thumb Mystic 30 October 2014, 15:07

Phoenix, Hezbollah can face off takfiris, Israelis and whatever gets thrown at them, only reason Hezbollah still stands is because of their ability to fight. Even the Israeli commanders admits it Phoenix. So why can't you?

Thumb -phoenix1 30 October 2014, 15:14

No ya Mowaten and Mystic, what took place in 2006 was just a very low intensity war. Sure, HA could face off many opponents, there's no doubt in this area, but if you want to tell me that it can face a full Israeli onslaught, then it won't pass. It is my well considered opinion that until now, even in Gaza, Israel is only palming the pulse. No one in Lebanon will survive a full blown war with Israhell, HA first in line. It would do us all a big favor if we strayed away from fiction, and the truth is I am one of the millions who certainly wish NO war with the Zionists. They cause genocides then would pause as if they were the victims. Haven't we seen enough yet?

Thumb Mystic 30 October 2014, 15:47

Phoenix it is true, that Israel can provide alot of damage, but the amount of damage they are able to absorb, that's their problem. That is the Israelis and Americans greatest weakness. They can't take as much damage as they can inflict.

The Resistance on the other hand, will fight until they are no more. Such fight happend 2006 and the Israelis said exactly what you did! That Hezbollah will be obliterated, and they wouldn't stop unless that succeeded. They were wrong, and so are you.

Time will prove it.

Thumb _mowaten_ 30 October 2014, 17:40

low intensity war? come on phoenix, during each one of the 33 days of the 2006 war, israel dropped more bombs from air, sea and land then the US and their whole coalition have dropped on ISIS in entire the last month.
and they had up to 30,000 soldiers deployed, which could not step into lebanese territory without being immediately forced to retreat. they depleted all their supplies of bombs, used the US ammunition depots inside israel and were resupplied twice during the course of the war. the only way they could have increased the intensity would have been to use nuclear weapons.

Default-user-icon yaya (Guest) 30 October 2014, 13:01

So cute the Israelis showcasing the hezb's abilities, hassan must be so proud.

Thumb _mowaten_ 30 October 2014, 17:41

yes they can bomb from the air, but hezbollah can rain rockets on every israeli city. it's called mutual deterrence.

Thumb nickjames 30 October 2014, 17:52

Looooooooooooool yeah like how Hamas rained rockets around the Tel Aviv airport to deter Israel... Do you know the difference between airstrikes and rockets?? Israeli jets launch precision strikes, while Hezbollah launches unguided missiles from pickup trucks and other types of launchers that need time to mobilise and assemble. Israel's strikes level entire blocks of buildings, while Hezbollah's rockets land in random places and start fires in the 7erch

Thumb _mowaten_ 30 October 2014, 18:31

Hamas is very far from comparing with Hezbollah. Where Hamas has a few thousand small to medium-small rockets, Hezbollah has hundreds of thousands of medium to large rockets. you can keep laughing but israelis know this very well, and this is why they allowed themselves to bomb gaza in 2008-09, 2012 and 2014 but didnt dare bomb lebanon since 2006.

Thumb nickjames 30 October 2014, 20:00

You have to consider that Hezbollah also is avoiding another war with Israel. A lot has changed since 2006. Hezbollah's goals after the war were to legitimise their state within a state. Nasrallah once said he would never turn his weapons against other Lebanese, yet he did so in 2008. He forced the government from power, and got a blocking third. He then forced Hariri from power because of the tribunal. In the meantime they've been assassinating those involved with the investigation and those who were close to the Hariris. Now they're fighting in Syria, and believe me it's taking a toll on them. Their goals have changed, they use Israel to justify their weapons. They need Israel to exist, otherwise their weapons would be illegal.

Thumb nickjames 30 October 2014, 22:17

Comparing them is not retarded. The groups have many similarities. Both do not recognise Israel, both call for it's destruction, both are funded by outsiders, both use rockets, both have claimed to be a resistance only to turn their weapons on their respective countrymen

Thumb nickjames 30 October 2014, 22:19

Hezbollah may have a more impressive arsenal than Hamas, but there are a lot of similarities in how the groups have confronted Israel

Thumb nickjames 30 October 2014, 19:29

John, if Hezbollah were truly Lebanese and truly a resistance i.e it only resists aggressions on Lebanese territory and doesn't go off to other countries, then I wouldn't have any problem. But the party was created as part of the Iranian revolution in the 80s, and its objectives were to create some kind of an Islamic state, stop Western imperialism, defeat the Phalangists, and obliterate the Zionist entity.

The Lebanese Forces were a resistance created by Lebanese leaders to stand up to the Palestinians, whereas Hezbollah was a militia Iran used to extend the influence of its Islamic revolution.

Thumb nickjames 30 October 2014, 22:13

Where did I say in this post that they're friends lol

Thumb nickjames 30 October 2014, 19:43

John, you have to acknowledge that Israel has much more power than apartheid South Africa. Israel won three wars against the Arabs. Israel has the full support of the US (even if the president doesn't like them). Also, blacks were being segregated and discriminated against around the world. Discrimination against blacks in the US wasn't outlawed until the 1960s. Israel can do whatever it wants because the Jews control American foreign policy. The president and secretary of state can't do anything about it. They can condemn Israel for indiscriminate attacks on UN schools and their West Bank settlements, while Israel uses US ammunitions to fight Hamas and continues to build settlements.

Default-user-icon From historic point of view (Guest) 31 October 2014, 02:15

bigjohn

I have news for you - arabs are natives only in Saudi Arabia and every single other state in middle east they are occupiers.