Heavily armed Hezbollah are ‘ready to move’
AN IDF insider said Hezbollah troops are “ready to move” as news broke of four Lebanese civilians being killed by Israeli air strikes.
Three children and their grandmother died in the strike, as reported by Lebanese state media, with pictures of their burnt-out car widely shared on social media.
In a speech last week, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned if civilians were killed, the group would return to the “civilianfor-civilian rule”.
Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah lawmaker, said that “the enemy would pay the price for crimes against civilians”.
At least seven other civilians, including
Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah, have been killed along the border in Lebanon in the past month.
Shadi Khaloul, a former Israeli Defence Force commander, said Hezbollah had approached border villagers asking them to house their men in preparation for an attack.
He added: “Israel risks unleashing a monster. Hezbollah works with the so-called Axis of Evil nations and Shia terrorist groups.
“They now have ballistic missiles and drones which they smuggle in from Syria, Iraq and Iran. They can call on 50,000-80,000 fighters. They use medium-range and long-range missiles. Their leader joked in an interview that the use of two of their massive missiles was no different to an atomic bomb.
“Israel cannot fight this alone. They need the support of the US to stop this from escalating.”
He said Hezbollah were building posts along the border and warned that they “should not be allowed within 20km” of Israeli command positions.
Mr Khaloul, a leader in the Christian Aramaic Maronite community and director of strategic partnerships at the Alma research centre, added: “They are moving around under the eyes of the UN forces there. Our research shows they are ready to move.”
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: “We are not interested in getting into a war in the north, but we are ready. The Air Force maintains most of its strength for Hezbollah.”
Tel Aviv was also on high alert last night after a series of missile attacks, with one landing near the city’s airport. There were no casualties.
Many people in Israeli communities along the border have sent loved ones to live outside the area, in fear of an invasion.