JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will deal a “crushing military blow” to Lebanon if it attacks.
His remarks Sunday at the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem come two days after the head of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror organization, Hassan Nasrallah, said that Israel could be wiped out in a war between the United States and Iran.
“Iran is able to bombard Israel with ferocity and force. When the Americans understand that this war could wipe out Israel, they will reconsider,” Nasrallah said on Friday in an interview on Hezbollah’s Al Manar television.
Nasrallah pointed to specific targets on a map of Israel, including Ben Gurion International airport, Ashdod port, water desalinization plants, petrochemical plants, and military installations.
Netanyahu returned the threat on Sunday at the beginning of the meeting, to which reporters are invited.
“Over the weekend we heard Nasrallah’s remarks on his attack plans. It should be clear that if Hezbollah dares to do some nonsense and attacks Israel, we will hit him and Lebanon with a crushing military blow,” Netanyahu said. “In contrast to Nasrallah, I do not intend to detail our plans.”
Netanyahu also said: “It is enough to recall that Nasrallah had – for years – dug terrorist tunnels, which we destroyed within days.”
Hezbollah has been named a terrorist organization by both Israel and the United States, as well as the European Union.
The threats come amid rising tensions between Iran and the United States.
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