Haifa mayor: War with Hezbollah will cause massive damage to the city

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
19 Feb 2024 22:39
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Einat Kalisch-Rotem has warned against expanding the war with Hezbollah, fearing the group's missile arsenal.

A picture taken from atop occupied Mount Carmel shows a view of the occupied city and port of Haifa in northern occupied Palestine on October 12, 2022. (AFP)

The Israeli mayor of the occupied city of Haifa, Einat Kalisch-Rotem, called on the Israeli government not to engage in an all-out war with Hezbollah, fearing "massive damage to the city."

Historically, Haifa was a major destination for maritime trade and travel on the Levant's coast, and following its occupation in 1948, the city became one of three major cities for the Israeli entity.

Kalisch-Rotem urged Israeli authorities not to escalate against Hezbollah, saying that the city's Carmel Tunnels will become a "death trap" for settlers. The Carmel Tunnels cut through Palestine's Mount Carmel Haifa, which separates the city into two blocs. The project is 8.6 km long, extending deep under the mountain.

As such, the occupation's mayor said that several areas in Haifa "must be evacuated," adding that the authorities are working to develop several fortified infrastructures in case the front "erupts in the north."

Former Israeli official urges decision-makers for calm

Echoing Kalisch-Rotem's concerns, the former head of the Israeli Mossad, Danny Yatom, said that it is not in "Israel's" interest to initiate a war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Yatom spoke to the Israeli broadcaster Channel 13 claiming that "Israel" today stands alone against the Axis of Resistance, "and instead of the liberal democratic axis, led by the United States of America, fighting this axis, we are forced to fight it [alone]."

"I was shocked on October 7, when I found that we needed two aircraft carriers to save Israel, and we were fighting barefoot as we thought (Hamas fighters)," he said, adding that "Israel" must learn from reality so as not to turn to hubris.

On his part, the former Commander of the Staff Corps, Major General Reserve Gershon Hacohen, said, "We are in an unprecedented and truly disastrous situation, and the situation in the north (Hezbollah) is very difficult."

Raviv Drucker, a political commentator on Channel 13, said, "We are not in the year 1967. There is no and we do not have the ability, nor the army to engage in a ground operation to force Hezbollah beyond the Litani, and all threats aim to trigger an international action."

From 'Kiryat Shmona' to 'Eilat'

In his latest address, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, vowed a strong response to "Israel's" murdering of civilians in Nabatiyeh and al-Souaneh in South Lebanon.

Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that Hezbollah owns a formidable missile power that would allow it to strike Israeli targets from "Kiryat Shmona" in northern occupied territories all the way to the southernmost settlement in "Eilat".

The leader also lambasted Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant, saying that he "has nearly gone mad."

"He's talking about [striking] 50km [deep into Lebanon] and [striking] Beirut. It appears that he forgot that the Resistance - he might be [having a mental breakdown] and he forgot, although we have addressed this several times - has major precision missile capabilities."

In a previous address on Wednesday, Sayyed Nasrallah warned Israeli authorities against expanding the war, saying that they will have to deal with more than "2 million displaced settlers" that will evacuate the north.