BICOM

Hezbollah’s leader threatened to attack Israel during a rare speech on Saturday, to mark the anniversary of the end of the 2006 Lebanon War.

In his address, televised nationally and shown on big public screens in Hezbollah-controlled towns, Hassan Nasrallah boasted about Hezbollah’s claimed ‘victory’ in the conflict and that Hezbollah could attack Israel at any time.

Nasrallah said: “Israel knows that there is no location in the country that is not in Hezbollah’s cross-hairs.”

He also publicly thanked Syria and Iran for their support during the war.

Nasrallah stressed his belief that the war, ten years ago, had undermined Israel’s existence. He added: “After the [Second Lebanon War], the question was raised as to whether or not Israel will continue to exist. Both Israel’s enemies and even Israel’s ‘friends’ aren’t sure of the answer to the question of Israel’s existence.”

In reference to a comment made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel being strong like an iron fist rather than weak like a cobweb, Nasrallah said: “We saw your ‘iron fist’ in Bint J’beil in 2006. I say this to Netanyahu – you are a society which is weaker than a cobweb, and are fed up with fighting and self defence.”

Israel’s 2006 war with Hezbollah left 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis dead. Hezbollah rockets targeted Israeli cities while Israel attempted to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure, much of it hidden in civilian villages and towns. The war was ended by UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which banned Hezbollah from operating close to Israel’s border and imposed an arms embargo on the group. However, most analysts believe Hezbollah has massively increased its missile capacity and now operates right on the border.

Since 2011, Hezbollah has been embroiled in the Syrian civil war, increasing its deployment to support the Assad regime. Hezbollah is now one of the most significant pro-Assad forces in Syria, despite suffering significant losses in its engagements with the rebels.