Hezbollah threatens to make life ‘hell’ for Israel

GlobalPost

Hezbollah promised it could retaliate against an Israeli attack on Lebanon by striking targets that would kill thousands and make life "hell" inside the country, the group's leader said today.

Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese extremists, said in a speech that "precision rockets" could find select targets inside Israel that would generate maximum casualties.

"I tell the Israelis that you have a number of targets, not a large number … that can be hit with precision rockets … which we have," Nasrallah said, according to Reuters.

Nasrallah's speech — marking Jerusalem Day, the last Friday of Ramadan — was a possible reference to Israeli nuclear facilities.

Although Israel has never admitted to having nuclear weapons, it's the only Middle Eastern country outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Reuters said.

Nasrallah also said Hezbollah's power could cripple Israel.

He framed his speech as an early warning to Israel, saying weapons are available now.

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"Rockets are ready and directed at these targets," he said, The Associated Press reported. "Hezbollah cannot destroy Israel, but we can transform the lives of millions of Zionists in occupied Palestine into a real hell. … We can change the face of Israel."

Hezbollah has strong ties to Iran and Syria, and may be trying to show its teeth if the Syrian regime falls to rebels.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also used Jerusalem Day — or al-Quds Day — to lash out at Israel.

He called the country's existence an "insult to all humanity," The Guardian reported.

Israel is "a corrupt, anti-human organized minority group standing up to all divine values," Ahmadinejad said . "Today, confronting the existence of the fabricated Zionist regime is in fact protecting the rights and dignity of all human beings."

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