Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah — the Iranian-affiliated organization in Lebanon considered a terrorist group by the United States, Arab League and others — threatened Israel with extinction on Monday.
Nasrallah charged that in the case of conflict, Hezbollah will ensure that Israel “will cease to exist.”
He made this threat during a televised speech that marked 17 years since the end of the Second Lebanon War.
In the speech, Nasrallah said that Israel’s military had been “weakened” and that it was unable to restore its former image.
“After 17 years of attempts, preparation, and development, the Israelis have been unable to restore the image of the Israeli army,” Nasrallah said.
“The Israeli army today is in its worst shape in history,” he claimed, and referred to warnings by IDF officers that Israel’s military readiness has suffered because of reservist protests against the government's plan to overhaul the judiciary.
Last week, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Israel would send Lebanon back to the Stone Age if the terror organization made a wrong move.
Nasrallah responded to Gallant in his speech, saying, “You too will be returned back to the stone age.”
Nasrallah said it would take “a few high-precision missiles” for Hezbollah to destroy targets, including “civilian and military airports, airbases, power stations… and the Dimona [nuclear] reactor.”
On Saturday, a senior commander of Hezbollah warned that the next Hezbollah–Israel war would be fought in the northern Israeli Galilee region rather than Lebanon.
“Our battle will be in the Galilee, and if the enemy and its tanks enter Lebanon, they will not be able to leave,” claimed Hajj Jihad during an interview with Hezbollah-affiliated Al Manar TV.
This article originally appeared on All Israel News and is reposted with permission.