Hezbollah Threatens Israel in Response to Gallant’s Remarks

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah responded Monday night to remarks by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, saying that if a war erupted between Israel and Lebanon, Israel would be the one to “return to the Stone Age.”

Gallant made the statement in late June while on a visit to the border with Lebanon, where he said that while Israel did not want a war, it was ready to protect its “citizens, soldiers and sovereignty.”

“I warn Nasrallah not to make a mistake. You have made mistakes in the past, you have paid very heavy prices. If, chalilah, an escalation or conflict develops here, we will return Lebanon to the Stone Age,” Gallant said at the time.

Nasrallah, in turn, responded in a speech on the occasion of the “victory” in the 2006 Lebanon War.

“The Israeli army is in the worst shape it’s ever been,” he said in an apparent reference to the judicial reform crisis. “The lack of trust between the soldiers and their commanders, between the army and the political echelon, the reluctance to sacrifice oneself, the lack of motivation to serve in combat units, are not helping the situation.

“They don’t have a mighty and legendary military, all the achievements are only due to the air force… A few days ago, the Israeli defense minister stood hundreds of meters from the [border] fence because he knows we are following him, and threatened and said they will return Lebanon to the Stone Age. We do not deny that Israel has the ability to return Lebanon to the Stone Age, with its powerful air force, and the American army and aid and backing; this is nothing new, it has always been this way.

“Therefore, this is not what is interesting here, but what Hezbollah and the resistance can do, and this is something that the Israeli command understands, and therefore these threats have no value – look at where Lebanon is today.”

He proceeded to threaten to conduct a missile attack on Israel, mentioning such targets as civilian airports, military airports, air force bases, power plants, water plants and central communication centers, among others.