Israelis to face major food shortages if Hezbollah strikes Haifa

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: TheMarker
5 Aug 2024 00:12
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The Israeli business newspaper TheMarker warns that "Israel’s" food supplies would only last a short period during a confrontation with Hezbollah.

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The Turkish warship TCG Kemalreis docks in Haifa port, occupied Palestine, Saturday, September 3, 2022. (AP)

The Port of Haifa in northern occupied Palestine, along with a nearby trade gateway, would be primary targets for Hezbollah if an all-out war erupts between the Lebanese group and "Israel", suggested the Israeli business newspaper TheMarker.

The report indicated that Tel Aviv authorities are grappling with emergency plans to reroute trade to the Port of Ashdod in the south. However, it pointed out that importers of food, grains, and animal feed are hesitant to use Ashdod due to its inadequate infrastructure and facilities.

The newspaper emphasized that relying on Ashdod could significantly increase the risk of major food shortages in Israeli-occupied territories, leading to scarcity of essential commodities such as wheat, soybeans, and animal feed.

TheMarker recalled that last year, Haifa accounted for 75% of "Israel's" food imports, highlighting that the potential shutdown of the port in the event of a war with Hezbollah would exacerbate existing trade issues, already strained by attacks on the port of Eilat by the Yemeni Armed Forces.

The report warned that "Israel’s" food supplies would only last a short period during a confrontation with Hezbollah, as the situation could lead to panic buying and stockpiling by Israeli settlers.

The newspaper cited Israeli Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, who acknowledged that "Israel" lacks medium and long-term plans to ensure food security.

Additionally, sources mentioned that unloading a 7,000-ton vessel at Ashdod would take two weeks, compared to just one and a half days in Haifa.

It is noteworthy that in mid-June, the Military Media of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah released footage showing its reconnaissance drones flying over swathes of occupied Palestinian land, including Kiryat Shmona, Nahariya, Safad, Karmiel, Afula, all the way to Haifa and its port.

Titled "This is what the Hoopoe came back with," the nine-minute-and-a-half video captured footage and exposed sensitive Israeli sites.

The Military Media for the Islamic Resistance in #Lebanon published a lengthy video of a reconnaissance drone surveilling vital and sensitive regions in northern occupied #Palestine to Haifa.

🧵1/4 pic.twitter.com/snzuHym3Hn
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 18, 2024

Decoding the footage, experts told Al Mayadeen that Hezbollah's video includes three types of potential targets: military (the Military-Industrial Complex and the Haifa Military Base), civilian (the Krayot area), and strategic (Haifa Port and its facilities).

Touching on the details of the video, the experts explained that the missile illustrated next to the target card has guiding fins at its front, symbolizing a precise missile, which is a message Hezbollah intended to convey in the video.

They noted that the red missile illustrated next to the identification card of Haifa Port indicates that Hezbollah treats this site with a high level of seriousness in terms of potential targeting.

A screen grab from a video published by the Military Media of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon shows the identification card of the Haifa Port.

Concerns about an escalation have intensified after "Israel" this week assassinated top Hezbollah commander Sayyed Fouad Shokor (Hajj Mohsen) in an airstrike in Haret Hreik, the Southern Suburb of Beirut, hours before it assassinated the head of Hamas' political bureau Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran.

Fouad Shokor, a senior military commander and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's close confidant was targeted by "Israel" in the Southern Suburb of #Beirut, #Lebanon, on Tuesday evening.

Here's everything you need to know about him. pic.twitter.com/9kM0IscQr7
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 31, 2024

Iran expects Hezbollah would hit 'broader, deeper' Israeli targets

In his speech at a large funeral ceremony held for Shokor, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah revealed that the Lebanese Resistance group has been contacted by countries and parties around the world to talk it out of responding to the assassination, adding that Hezbollah made it clear that this is not up for debate.

He underlined that the Israeli regime and its backers "must await our inevitable response" for Shokor's assassination and that "there is no debate or argument about this."

Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) cited a spokesperson for the Iranian permanent mission to the United Nations as saying that Hezbollah’s response to the Israeli assassination of Shokor would see the Lebanese Resistance group attacking "broader and deeper" Israeli targets.

"Until now, Hezbollah and the [Israeli] regime have, in an unwritten understanding, practically adhered to certain limits in their military operations, meaning that confining their actions to border areas and shallow zones, targeting primarily military objectives," explained the spokesperson on Friday night.

The spokesperson noted, however, that the Israeli aggression on Beirut "marked a deviation from these boundaries."

"We anticipate that, in its response, Hezbollah will choose both broader and deeper targets, and will not restrict itself solely to military targets and means."

When asked about the targets, the spokesperson indicated that they would be "within" the Israeli-occupied territories.