Israel Attacked Convoys Supplying Arms to Hezbollah Nearly 100 Times in 5 Years

Israel has carried out almost a hundred of attacks against convoys that delivered arms to the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and other anti-Israel forces over the last five years, local media reported Thursday, citing a former Israeli military commander.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Haaretz newspaper, Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, former commander of the Israel Air Force, for the first time provided the number of attacks on arms convoys for Hezbollah, saying that it is approaching to triple digits. The newspaper specified that Israeli top officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, earlier admitted such attacks, but were reluctant to give the numbers.

"An action could be an isolated thing, small and pinpointed, or it could be an intense week involving a great many elements. Happily, this goes on under the radar… There is another thing that I believe is very significant… We had the good sense not to drag the State of Israel into wars," Eshel told the newspaper.

Eshel reportedly noted that this strategy allowed not only to destroy arms designated against Israel, but also to avoid involvement in any military confrontations.

"Escalation to war is trivial in the Middle East… It is no great trick to be a bull in a china shop. When Israel has a vested interest, it acts irrespective of the risks," Eshel said, as quoted by the newspaper.

Hezbollah, considered by Israel as a terrorist organization, was established in the 1980s in Lebanon.