Will ‘use all power’ if Israel attacks Lebanon: Hezbollah leader

Beirut, Jan 27 (IANS) Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has said that his party will not wage a war against Israel but it will certainly use all its power to respond if Israel wages a war against Lebanon.

"Israel will regret if it wages a war against Lebanon. Israelis should know that they should not attack us because the cost of this attack will be much bigger than they expect," Nasrallah said in a televised speech on Al-Mayadeen TV channel on Saturday.

Nasrallah assured that Hezbollah has accurate rockets that can reach Tel Aviv, reported Xinhua news agency.

Nasrallah also confirmed the existence of tunnels dug from Lebanon into northern Israel.

"Of course, there are tunnels that were discovered in the south. What is surprising is that it took the Israelis a long time to discover these tunnels," he said.

Nasrallah said that some of these tunnels date back to 1701.

"This proves the failure and incapacity of Israeli investigators ... They could not discover these tunnels earlier despite all their advanced techniques," he said.

On December 4, 2018, the Israeli army launched Northern Shield operation to "locate and thwart" the discovered tunnels.

However, Nasrallah said that Hezbollah will not limit itself to the tunnels dug into northern Israel if it goes into war with Israel.

"Is it logic to consider that Hezbollah will send thousands of its militants to northern Israel using only five tunnels?" he asked.

He also assured that the Northern Shield operation has not ended yet as it was announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier.

"The operation is still ongoing and the Israelis are still looking for other tunnels," he said.

Nasrallah said that Netanyahu was aiming for a media propaganda when it announced the discovery of tunnels to cover his bribery and other corruption-related cases.

The Hezbollah's leader noted that this propaganda was in favour of Hezbollah because Netanyahu scared his citizens, saying "he did us a favour in our psychological war against Israelis."

Nasrallah added that Gadi Eizenkot, chief of general staff of the Israel Defence Forces, wanted to give the impression that he made a great achievement before leaving office.

"This is another reason behind the Israelis' big propaganda about the tunnels," he said.

Nasrallah added that the government should follow up closely on Israel's construction of a cement wall on the borders with Lebanon.

Nasrallah also noted that his party is ready to negotiate its defence strategy while offering the needed support to the Lebanese Army.