Israeli Defence Minister and alternative Prime Minister Benny Gantz has taken aim at Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, claiming that his organization poses a threat to Lebanon and its population.
“While Nasrallah is our biggest enemy from the north, he is Lebanon’s biggest problem,” Gantz said, speaking to the Knesset’s foreign affairs and defence committee on Monday.
“We saw the disaster that happened in Lebanon. The State of Israel offered help and assistance,” he added, referring to the August 4 Beirut port blast. “Just think about what would happen if that would be repeated with Iranian weapons in Lebanese villages. We are dealing with enemies who are operating and storing weapons in a civilian environment. If we have no choice but to fight, it might have harsh implications,” the minister warned.
“The fact is that in Lebanon there are homes with a guest room and a missile room will make Lebanese society pay a heavy price,” Gantz specified.
Hezbollah has denied that it stores weapons in civilian areas, and categorically rejected allegations that it had any arms at the Beirut port on Friday.
In his discussion with committee members, the defence minister also emphasized that Israel must continue to work with its allies to “harm Iran and affect what goes on in Iran,” and to prevent the Islamic Republic from its alleged efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.
Gantz’ remarks come less than a week after his warning to Hezbollah and Nasrallah personally about crossing Israeli ‘red lines’.
“If Nasrallah thinks to break the red lines, he will receive a painful response that will remind him of the high readiness of the State of Israel and will endanger the State of Lebanon,” he said, with his comments published several hours before the powerful ammonium nitrate blast rocked Beirut’s port.
Gantz and Nasrallah are known to have a personal antagonism between them, and have repeatedly traded personal barbs in recent months and years. In May, the Hezbollah leader mocked the retired officer, alleging that Gantz was “vastly experienced in the disappointments of south Lebanon,” referring to Gantz’s service as commander of the IDF’s Lebanon Liason Unit until Israel’s withdrawal from the area in May 2000. In 2019, Gantz warned that if Hezbollah attempted to attack Israel with rockets, Nasrallah “won’t be able to make it back to [his] bunker” to survive the military's response.
