Israeli Ambassador To UN: Lebanon Will Be Reduced To Rubble If Hizbullah Attacks

During a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss cross-border tunnels built by Hizbullah, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon warned that if the Iranian proxy has “the arrogance” to attack the Jewish state then the IDF will reduce to rubble critical infrastructure in Lebanon. “Let me be crystal clear,” he asserted, “if Hezbollah makes the mistake of opposing our actions [against the tunnels] or violating our sovereignty…we will act swiftly. We will act by land, by air, by sea. We will act with our full force and might.” Jerusalem has called on the Security Council to designate Hizbullah a terrorist organization and to condemn its violation of resolution 1701, which set the terms for ending the 2006 war between the sides including preventing any non-state actor from operating within the buffer zone set up along the joint Israeli-Lebanese frontier. This comes on the backdrop of Operation Northern Shield, launched by the IDF earlier this month to uncover and destroy the subterranean passageways through which Hizbullah planned to dispatch fighters in a future war with a view to capturing Israeli towns and villages. A United States representative offered unequivocal support for Israel’s campaign to neutralize the tunnels and described as “incomprehensible” the refusal of other states to recognize the severity of the threat. Prior to the meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu described Hizbullah’s actions as a “double war crime” as its fighters are “targeting Israeli civilians while hiding behind Lebanese civilians.” He also slammed the Lebanese Armed Forces as a “total failure” for not inhibiting Hizbullah’s militarization and use of Lebanese territory as a launching pad for attacks on the Jewish state.