Should the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah attack Israel, as its leader Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly threatened to do, it would end badly not only for the Iran-backed proxy but also for the Lebanese civilians it would drag into the line of fire, Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz warned on Tuesday.
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During a tour of northern Israel, Gantz said: "If Nasrallah and Hezbollah's threats translate into action, the outcome will be painful for Hezbollah. And, sadly, it will also be painful for the Lebanese people, who are being used as human shields by Hezbollah as it is hiding weapons and missiles underneath their homes."
Gantz's rhetoric comes days after Nasrallah said that "Israel's home front will experience things that have not happened since its formation" in the event of a war.
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An all-out war, whether on Israel's north or south, "would be difficult for the Israeli home front, but it would be considerably more difficult for our enemies," Gantz said. "This is true in particular of Hezbollah and Hamas, both of whom are violating international law" by developing capabilities for attacking a civilian population.
Israel and Lebanon are still technically at war, and a United Nations peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, patrols the border between the countries.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
