The predictions only get grimmer for Israel -- Israel’s power...

The predictions only get grimmer for Israel --

Israel’s power grid is vulnerable to a Hezbollah attack that could render it “uninhabitable” 72 hours later, Haaretz reported on 21 June.

According to the CEO of a company that manages and oversees Israel’s electrical systems on behalf of the government, Israel is entirely unprepared for a war with Hezbollah that would likely target the country’s power infrastructure.

“We are not ready for a real war. We live in a fantasy world, in my eyes,” said Shaul Goldstein, head of Noga – the Israel Independent System Operator.

Goldstein made the comments while speaking at a conference organized by The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in the southern city of Sderot. He said that Israel would be “uninhabitable” after 72 hours without power. “You look at all of our infrastructure, the optical fibers, the ports – and I won’t go into the sensitive things – we are not in a good place.”

“If Nasrallah decides to paralyze Israel’s power grid, he only needs to pick up the phone and call the head of Beirut’s power grid, which is [technically] identical to Israel’s.” Goldstein added, “the upside is that we have invested a lot in protection, working together with Israel Electric Company.”

On Thursday, Reuters noted that Hezbollah likely possesses upwards of 150,000 missiles and rockets of various types and ranges.

Hezbollah says it has rockets that can hit all areas of Israel, including precision missiles, drones, and anti-tank, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles.

Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging increasingly hostile threats in recent days. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned an invasion of the Galilee is “still on the table” in the event of war.

Israeli-born Amos Hochstein, adviser to US President Joe Biden, traveled to Israel and Lebanon this week amid the heightened tensions.

In Israel, Hochstein met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Knesset opposition leader Yair Lapid, and former war cabinet member Benny Gantz.

Haaretz writes that Hochstein warned of the possibility that war with Hezbollah could lead to a wide-scale Iranian attack on Israel, of a kind that would be difficult for Israel’s defense systems to repel in concert with possible wide-scale fire by Hezbollah from Lebanon.

Israeli leaders have for months threatened to “copy-paste” the destruction of Gaza onto Lebanon if Hezbollah did not halt its attacks from the north, which forced the evacuation of some 200,000 settlers.

On Wednesday, the Israeli army announced its Northern Command had approved operational plans for war with Lebanon.

Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese MP and spokesman Ibrahim Moussawi stated earlier this week that if Israel wants a full-scale war, the Islamic resistance is ready.

“If they want to come to Lebanon, they are welcome. We are waiting for them. Ahlan wa Sahlan, as they say in Arabic,” he stated.

Moussawi noted that Israel is having difficulty managing the war in Gaza and asked where Israel would get the troops to launch a much more difficult invasion of Lebanon.

“They can’t manage themselves in Gaza, and they want to come here? In Gaza, they are not fighting. They are just bombarding and sending drones. But if they do come, we are anxiously waiting for them. We have made preparations that they can never imagine,” he added.