Hezbollah raid was game changer, sent warning to Israel: Analyst

An American author and former diplomat says a recent Hezbollah operation against the occupied territories sent a warning to the Israelis that they “cannot hide anymore,” and that the Lebanese resistance group is no longer “on the receiving end” of the Tel Aviv regime’s raids.

News ID: 446838

Date: 04 September 2019 - 20:11

RNA - Michael Springmann made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Monday after Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV broadcast footage of two anti-tank missiles hitting a moving Israeli armored vehicle, killing and wounding its occupants.

The attack came in response to an Israeli air raid last week that killed two resistance fighters in Syria as well as an Israeli drone attack on southern Beirut.

Commenting on the retaliatory operation, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned that there were “no more red lines” in the group’s confrontation with the Tel Aviv regime, and that in case of any future Israeli act of aggression, “all your border, your forces and your settlements” would be at risk.

Springmann further said that Hezbollah’s operation “changed the entire game” and sent a warning message to Israel that the occupying entity would not be permitted to launch cross border attacks and violate Lebanese sovereignty with impunity.

Hezbollah signaled that “‘we’re not going to be on the receiving end forever... We’re going on the offensive, and we will attack you in occupied Palestine, not just in the southern part of Lebanon or the northern part of Lebanon or wherever,’” he noted

Nasrallah, the analyst added, “has pretty much made it clear to the Israelis that ‘you can’t hide anymore,’ that ‘your civilians can’t hide anymore.’”

The ex-US diplomat also pointed out that Israel is “afraid of” its people finding out about the regime’s “precarious” position and is thus lying about the casualties of Hezbollah’s attack.

“The Israelis fear greatly casualties, particularly death casualties, and ... are trying to do their best to show that ... this is a fake video ... by al-Manar TV in Beirut,” he said.

“The whole thing is that they are afraid of the people in Israel realizing what a precarious position they are in .... and that their claim to annex the illegal colonies in the West Bank [is] going to create more than an uproar. So, I think in the future the Israelis are really concerned about what the people think of their government and what will happen should [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu push things a little bit too far,” he added.

Springmann further described resistance as the sole option to confront the Israeli regime, saying Hezbollah’s operation conveys a message that “the way you deal with the Israelis is to fight back.”

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