The Israeli army and emergency response services have been engaged this week in a 5-day exercise designed to test the home-front capabilities of a large-scale missile attack from Hezbollah, the Financial Times reported. The nation-wide test culminates Wednesday in a warning siren to be heard across the country, which signals citizens to make their way to bomb shelters and safe rooms.
Neighboring countries are not pleased with Israel’s military operations and claim the exercise has added to rising tensions in the region:
“Despite government assurances that the drill is a yearly routine, political leaders in Lebanon and Syria have accused Israel of warmongering.”
In response to speculation over a possible war between Hezbollah and Israel, the leader of the Iranian backed group, Hassan Nasrallah, told the Associated Press Tuesday that Hezbollah was capable of destroying Israeli ships should they impose another blockade on Lebanon:
“‘In any future war, if you blockade our coasts and ports, all the military, civil and commercial ships heading to ports in occupied Palestine along the Mediterranean will come under Hezbollah rocket attack.”
Hassan Nasrallah’s comments add to speculation over Hezbollah’s military capabilities and their potential regional impact. Israel claims Hezbollah has been supplied with scud missiles by both Iran and Syria, a claim that both countries have denied and Nasrallah has refused to comment on.
While both sides currently support the uneasy peace, the Financial Times reports there is still the possibility of conflict:
“Officials and analysts in Beirut say that while war might not be imminent, the broader crisis in the region over Iran’s nuclear programme, and the fact that Hizbollah is Tehran’s most important regional ally, could provoke a new confrontation.”