Senior Hezbollah officials threatened Israel on Monday with an attack on its offshore gas rigs amid US-mediated negotiations between Israel and the Lebanese government to resolve a high-stakes maritime border dispute.
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"All of Israel's gas fields are under threat from our missiles – not just Karish. The ships that extract the gas are Israeli, even if under a Greek banner," Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah told Lebanon's Al-Mayadeen TV.
"There is no target in the sea or in the air that is not within the range of Hezbollah's precise missiles," he said. "No one wants war, and the decision is in Israel's hands, not in our hands."
Nasrallah has been vocal about opposition to Israeli extraction of natural gas, which Lebanon claims is done from oil reserves within its maritime borders, specifically the Karish gas field.
"If the extraction of gas from 'Karish' begins in September before Lebanon gets its rights, we will have a problem," he warned.
On July 2, the IDF shot down three unmanned aerial vehicles approaching Israel's Karish platform from Lebanon.
One of the UAVs was downed by an Israeli F-16 fighter jet, while the other two were intercepted by the INS Eilat missile corvette, according to the IDF. All three were shot down over the Mediterranean Sea, reported the IDF.
Nasrallah also touted his group's drone capabilities, claiming: "We have drones that can evade the enemy; a number of drones in recent years entered parts of the Galilee and returned without being shot down."
The head of Hezbollah's executive council, Sayyed Safieddine, meanwhile, said Monday that the Iran-backed terrorist organization was "close to defeating the Israelis by land and by sea if we want to, and we will decide when to do it."
Speaking in the southern Lebanese town of Kfarkela, Safieddine, echoing Nasrallah, qualified that while Hezbollah does not desire war with Israel, it is prepared for one.
"The more you put pressure on our country, the more our determination, strength and solidity will increase," said Safieddine, according to the report by Lebanese news site Naharnet. "We are ready on all fronts," he added.
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The executive council is responsible for the terrorist organization's civilian activities and is one of five bodies subordinate to Hezbollah's Supreme Council, which is headed by Nasrallah.
Earlier this month, Nasrallah threatened Israel in a televised speech that addressed the maritime border talks, which also touch on Beirut's attempt to gain access to part of the Karish gas field off the Haifa coastline.
"We're following up on all gas fields across Palestine," said Nasrallah. "If you don't allow firms to extract gas, we'll flip the table on the entire world. Going to war would be more honorable if the other choice is for the Lebanese to starve."
JNS.org contributed to this report.
