Official says Israel is “not prepared” for war with Hezbollah
A senior Israeli electricity official warned on June 20th that Israel would become “uninhabitable” after 72 hours should a full-scale war break out with Hezbollah, The New Arab and agencies reported.
“We are not in a good situation, and we are not prepared for a real war,” said Shaul Goldstein, head of the Independent System Operator Ltd. “We are living in a fantasy.”
He noted that the company could not promise electricity in the event of war: “After 72 hours without electricity, it will be impossible to live here.”Goldstein explained that Beirut’s power grid is largely identical to Israel’s, and could therefore easily be damaged if the country’s power grid is destroyed.
He later backtracked his remarks to Israeli media. “I made irresponsible remarks that I shouldn’t have,” he told the Israeli Kan broadcaster. The Chief Executive Officer of the Israel Electric Company, Meir Shpilger, said Goldstein’s comments were “irresponsible [and] detached from reality.”
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Energy Minister Eli Cohen also condemned Goldstein on X: “The State of Israel will not be left in the dark. The odds of a power outage lasting days are very low,” he wrote. He assured that Israel’s “huge reserves of coal” could also help to generate power.
Cohen also threatened Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah: “If there will be an hours-long power outage in Israel, there will be a months-long power outage in Lebanon.”
Israeli officials have escalated rhetoric surrounding the country’s conflict with Hezbollah — which has occurred parallel to that of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip. Even as Israel negotiates ceasefire talks with Hamas officials, the country is reported “ready” for war with the Lebanese militant group.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that war between Israel and Hezbollah could lead to a “full-scale regional conflict” in the Middle East.
In response to Cohen’s remarks, Nasrallah replied, “There will be no place in [Israel] that will not be reached by our missiles.”
The New Arab and agencies
