“‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.’” (Psalm 83:4)
Israel’s army went on high alert Monday and Iron Dome batteries were deployed along the northern border in anticipation of retaliation from the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah for an alleged Israeli airstrike that killed six Hezbollah operatives, including a senior commander.
On Thursday, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, who rarely appears in public, was interviewed in his bunker by Lebanese TV. During the interview, he threatened to attack Israel and occupy portions of the Galilee.
Boasting of the terrorist organization’s arms buildup, Nasrallah said, “We are ready to intervene there [in the Galilee] and take over. We have everything we need to fight Israel in the future.”
Nasrallah said the group was in possession of Iranian Fateh-110 surface-to-surface missiles, which have a range up to 300 km and can can reach anywhere in Israel. (Times of Israel)
Outgoing IDF intelligence head Brig. Gen. Itai Brun considers the threat of Hezbollah real.
“Unlike in the Second Lebanon War, I believe that next time we will see Hezbollah sources on Israel soil,” he said. (Israel HaYom)
Brun even named specific Israeli communities saying, “They will come in two forms: one will be terror attacks—pinpoint strikes in Nahariya or Shlomi or Ma’alot [in northern Israel]—and the other will be more substantial operations to grab territory inside Israel.”
Brun predicted that Hezbollah will fire 1,000 missiles a day at Israel in the next conflict. (CBN)
Iran has been training Hezbollah for the next attack on Israel. Under the guidance of the Iranians, Hezbollah has planted mines in an area expected to serve as a landing site for Israeli forces. They are also being equipped with anti-tank weapons designed to defeat Israel’s anti-missile defense system known as Trophy, which is outfitted on armored vehicles, such as Israel’s main battle tank—Merkava (Hebrew for Chariot). (jpca)
The outgoing intelligence chief also predicted that the mess in the Middle East will continue throughout 2015, saying that the Islamic State (ISIS) cannot be defeated by airpower alone and that terrorist attacks, such as those experienced recently in Paris, will continue.
The former intelligence head also believes that Hezbollah is in possession of non-conventional weapons received from Syria.
He said Syria has been using these weapons against its own population and that it is reasonable to think that terrorist organizations, such has Hezbollah, are now in possession of them.
Brun described the vast majority of those fighting against the Assad regime as Islamists, meaning that they would support an Islamic as opposed to a secular form of government if they win the war.
Only 13 percent of these, however, would be considered global Jihadists who would want to join the Islamic State movement.
Brun also stated that Iran has not given up its goal of attaining nuclear weapons, although it is outwardly cooperating with the “superpowers,” and is likely to sign an agreement before the end of the year.
“So far Iran is abiding by the interim agreement [signed in Geneva in November 2013]. The pressures [placed on it] and especially the financial crisis are leading it toward what we regard as a serious debate on the final agreement,” he said. “We think that Iran’s nuclear vision, centered around its attempt to obtain nuclear weapons, will remain in place even if an agreement is signed,” Brun added. (Times of Israel)