Entire Territory of Israel Within Range of Hezbollah's Missiles - Hezbollah Deputy Chief

BEIRUT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2018) The missiles of Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement are capable of hitting targets in any part of Israel, Sheikh Naim Qassem, the deputy chief of the Lebanon-based Shiite group, said Sunday.

"Now Israel's rear area including Tel Aviv is in the crosshairs. There is no place in the Zionist entity that is outside the gunpoint of Hezbollah's missiles," Qassem said in an interview to the Iranian newspaper Al-Vefagh.

According to Qassem, Israel does not consider military options against Lebanon, especially in light of the recent conflict in the Gaza Strip. He explained that since 2006 Israel had been deterred by Hezbollah's decision not to respond to provocations, but only to aggression.

The deputy chief of the movement also stressed that it was highly unlikely that Israel would launch a new campaign against Lebanon.

According to him, Tel Aviv hardly considers such a scenario, as they interpret their actions as retaliatory in case of Hezbollah attack. The rules of engagement established by Hezbollah in Lebanon and the rules for deterring Israel had greatly complicated the very initial idea of Israel's war against Lebanon, he explained.

On Tuesday, the Israel Armed Forces announced the launch of an operation called "Northern Shield" aimed at destroying the trans-boundary tunnels dug by the Hezbollah movement to secretly transfer its militants to Israel. After the launch of the operation, the Lebanese army and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) increased the number of patrols along the UN-established Blue Line border demarcation area between Israel and Lebanon, in order to prevent incidents that could lead to increased tensions in the border area.