Israeli Reserve General: we're not prepared for war with Hezbollah

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
18 Dec 2023 23:11
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The reserve general warns that Hezbollah can hit targets such as electricity companies, water reserves, and air force bases.

A screen grab from a video published by the Islamic Resistance Military Media depicting an attack against the Israeli "Birket Risha" in northern occupied Palestine on December 18, 2023 (Military Media)

The Israeli reserve general, Yitzhak Brick, said that a war against Hezbollah would quickly snowball into a regional war, which "Israel" is not ready for.

In an interview with the Israeli channel TOV, Brick stated that "Hezbollah today is equipped with 150,000 rockets and missile shells, and the main problem is that some of which is precise and heavy, weighing hundreds of kilograms".

The reserve general warned that Hezbollah "can hit targets such as power [companies], water [utility], air force bases, and disrupt road traffic and [displace] the population."

He added that Hezbollah also has an arsenal of mortar shells and unguided missiles which can cause serious damage if they were to hit an urban area such as the "Gush Dan" area; in addition to the drones they have.

He emphasized that "if a war breaks out today against Hezbollah, and this does not mean exchanging strikes but invading, you can expect a large-scale devastating war, not only from their [hezbollah's] side but it would turn into a regional war."

"Israel is not prepared for this war and has not fortified its internal front for a similar war; it has reduced the army to a size incapable of fighting in multiple arenas simultaneously," the Israeli reserve general warned.

"Today, we are at war in a front and a half, but there will be at least five fronts [in the event of a regional war], and I haven't even mentioned Egypt and Jordan," he added.

"We have not built reserve ammunition depots, especially when there are more days of fighting; what will happen after a week or two when the United States cannot supply us with ammunition?"

Brick stressed that "invading Lebanon today means a regional war, and Israel is not ready for it at all."

Regarding the issue of resettling settlers in the north, the Israeli reserve general said that unfortunately, the security and military establishment is trying to assure them by promising them a war on Lebanon after they're done with Gaza.

The reserve general warned the northern settlers to be cautious of this promise.

"If we really want them to return, the army [IOF] today can do that, by forming a security belt in front of the towns, having the army at the forefront rather than the residents [settlers],"

Concerning the IOF, he confirmed that "we have 200,000 people who currently do not have units because they have been discharged due to the army reduction," pointing out that "soldiers today are not partaking in the war in Gaza because they do not have tanks after they were drastically reduced in thousands."

In this context, the head of the Upper Al-Jalil Regional Council, Giora Zeltz, said, "We have established a security belt inside Israel, and Hezbollah is the one managing the situation."

On his part, the former head of the National Security Council for the occupation, Yaakov Amidror, affirmed to the Kan channel that "Hezbollah does not want a war, and we do not want a war [either]; both parties have maintained containing the hostilities in the ."