A Lebanese military analyst recently said on local television that the Lebanese army and Hezbollah are prepared for war with Israel.
The analyst, Abdul Rahman Chehaitli, said that Israel should not underestimate the Lebanese army, because even though it has inadequate weapons, it has some of the most qualified servicemen, who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the country even if they have low salaries.
Chehaitli added that the Lebanese military has Hezbollah’s 100,000 fighters and arsenal of 150,000 rockets to back it up.
He made the comments in an interview which aired on July 11 on OTV and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
Despite our [inadequate] weapons, the Lebanese soldiers and officers are among the most qualified – not just in the Middle East, but even compared to Europe. This quality was evident during the war on terror," said the analyst.
"If the army commander orders these 60,000 soldiers to go to the border, all 60,000 will go there, even without a salary. I am not exaggerating. I am telling you how it is. The Lebanese army is capable of fighting the Israel army. It is ready to fight. It will bear all the consequences of this fighting and will not retreat. It is not just talk. I have experienced this for over 40 years," continued Chehaitli.
"There are also 100,000 fighters [of Hezbollah] who are waiting. They tell the Lebanese army that they have its back. And then, there are [Hezbollah’s] 150,000 rockets. If Israel could not take anything when there was no army and no resistance in Lebanon, it will not be able to take anything now," he warned.
Hezbollah has been provoking Israel lately. The latest incident occurred on Tuesday, when Hezbollah terrorists, wearing full uniform and armed, toured the Israeli border in the Upper Galilee.
Last week, Hezbollah terrorists demonstrated at the Israel-Lebanon border, when several of them attempted to damage the fence.
IDF soldiers used non-lethal means to force the terrorists away from the fence.
Before that, Hezbollah terrorists illegally erected tents on sovereign Israeli territory. The tents were placed about 30 meters inside Israeli territory, and generators were placed there to allow Hezbollah terrorists to stay in the compound.
At the start of July, Hezbollah evacuated one of the two tents it had set up.