Hezbollah responds to Israeli threat: You too will go back to Stone Age

Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah responded to a recent threat made by Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, saying Israel and not Lebanon would be going back to the Stone Age if a war breaks out. 

“I say to the enemy leaders, you too will go back to the stone age if you go to war with Lebanon,” Nasrallah said in a speech marking the anniversary of the 2006 Lebanon war with Israel.

Last week, Gallant warned Hezbollah that “if an escalation or conflict develops here, we will return Lebanon to the Stone Age.”

Nasrallah warned Israel that Hezbollah’s precision guided missiles will be able to target “civilian and military airports, airbases, power stations” as well as the Dimona nuclear reactor.

“The enemy must know that it is playing a game of existence and annihilation, and your threats do not frighten us, and today Lebanon has the ability to achieve security and safety in the face of the enemy,” Nasrallah said.

The Hezbollah leader also commented on the crisis in Israel’s army, where more than 10,000 reservists have announced they will no longer show up for duty due to the government’s judicial overhaul.

On Sunday, Israel’s Air Force chief Homer Bar warned about the severity of the crisis, saying that “the force will no longer be what it once was.”

“In light of the political divisions that exist in (Israel), the Israeli army is in the worst condition compared to any time in the past, and the major blow to this army will be if the Knesset approves the new conscription law,” Nasrallah said, referring to the government’s plan to pass a law that will exempt ultra-orthodox youth from the army.

Nasrallah’s threats came as tensions on the Lebanese border with Israel continued to rise after a member of Hezbollah threw a molotov cocktail at across the border, damaging water infrastructure near the town of Metula.

The attack was the latest in a series of incidents along the border where members of Hezbollah have attempted to breach and damage the fence.