War could lead to 'Israel's' resounding failure: Ex-intelligence chief

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
16 Oct 2024 13:08
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A ranking official in the Israeli Shin Bet intelligence apparatus describes Hezbollah as "a powerful organization with a structured command, well-organized, equipped, armed, and trained."

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Israelis take cover as sirens sound for incoming fire, during a tour for foreign media with the Israeli army in Metulla, near the Lebanese border, on October 15, 2024. (AFP)

Without contemplating the endgame of the ongoing battle, "Israel" is facing an endless war that will lead to a resounding strategic failure, potentially destroying its relative superiority, warned Tamir Hayman, former head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate AMAN.

Hayman pointed out that "although Hezbollah has been dealt a significant blow and Hamas has suffered considerable damage, the worst-case scenario remains possible."

"The battlefield achievements could dissipate if Israel does not make the right decision," the former Israeli military official added.

His remarks align with those of Shon Revin, a former senior official in the Shin Bet and a lieutenant colonel in the reserves, who underscored that "Hezbollah's ability to recover is very rapid, even if Israel has targeted many of its capabilities."

"For days now, we’ve seen various generals claiming that we've almost eliminated Hezbollah, that we've destroyed 70% of its capabilities, but that’s clearly not the case... we must take that into account," the former official told Israeli Channel 14.

Revin described the Lebanese Resistance group as "a powerful organization with a structured command, well-organized, equipped, armed, and trained."

The former Shin Bet official also expressed doubt that the strikes carried out against Hezbollah would subdue it, saying, "Even if we hit the command and control chain hard, they still have significant capabilities."

Israeli leadership disillusioned

In a related context, Kan News suggested that the Israeli leadership must "remain humble", as, despite its claims of destroying 50% of Hezbollah's capabilities, the Lebanese group's rockets continue to fall on the northern and central regions.

The statements come in the wake of Hezbollah's daily rocket launches and drone attacks on targets in Israeli-occupied territories, most notably the attack on the Golani Brigade's training camp in the Binyamina area, south of the occupied city of Haifa, which killed at least four soldiers and injured dozens.

Israeli media emphasized on Tuesday that the Lebanese group has more surprises up its sleeve, commenting that the leadership in “Israel” is selling its settlers illusions about its ability to destroy the capabilities that Hezbollah has accumulated for years.

Kan TV reported that a year after the most difficult and humiliating military strike that "Israel" received, the Israeli leadership refuses to learn from its mistakes.

The channel criticized the arrogance of Israeli military officials, who have been claiming that Hezbollah is collapsing "like a house of cards."

The report added that similar rhetoric was used concerning Hamas, where officials said Hamas had been deterred after the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip in 2021, but the October 7, 2023 events proved otherwise.

Hezbollah has not collapsed, capable of hurting 'Israel'

The Israeli channel also confirmed that despite enduring harsh blows, Hezbollah has not collapsed and remains capable of causing serious damage to "Israel".

It highlighted that the Lebanese group still possesses a massive stockpile of rockets and missiles, underground fortifications, and command and control systems, which allowed it to quickly resume launching more organized and heavier rocket salvos toward "Israel".

Furthermore, Hezbollah "possesses an effective fleet of drones that have repeatedly evaded Israeli detection systems, as well as an elite force known as Radwan," KAN added.