BEIRUT: Hezbollah’s leader was quoted by two Lebanese newspapers Monday as warning that his Iranian-backed militants will strike Israel’s largest city of Tel Aviv with missiles from Lebanon — if the Jewish state attacked the fighters’ south Beirut stronghold. The papers — As-Safir and Al-Akhbar, both with close ties to Hezbollah — said Hassan Nasrallah made the threat during a weekend closed meeting with a group of Lebanese expatriates.
His comments follow a recent incident at the Lebanon-Israel border, which has been mostly calm for three years. Nasrallah’s latest threat indicates any future conflict could have a wider range.
“The former equation has changed. Now it will be Dahiyeh against Tel Aviv, not Beirut against Tel Aviv,” Nasrallah was quoted as saying. He warned that if the Israelis hit Beirut, “there will be a more painful equation for the Israelis.” The papers did not elaborate.
A Hezbollah media official contacted by The Associated Press could not confirm the reports, which is not unusual for the group. Hezbollah is believed to have longer-range missiles that can reach Tel Aviv. Nasrallah recently said Hezbollah has replenished its stock since the 2006 war and has more than 30,000 rockets. The reclusive Nasrallah rarely appears in public and makes statements from a secret hiding place, because he fears Israeli assassination.
Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war in the summer of 2006 that killed around 1,200 people in Lebanon — mostly civilians — and 160 in Israel.
