Israeli PM Netanyahu has lashed out at recent comments made by Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, vowing to retaliate if Israel faces military action from the Lebanon-based Shia group.
"If they confront us, they will suffer a crushing blow, the levels of which they cannot imagine," the PM said during an event at his office on Thursday.
The statement came hours after Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Hezbollah, threatened Israel with dire consequences should it wage a war on Lebanon, and announced that his group has acquired precision-guided missiles despite Israeli attempts to prevent it from attaining such weapons by striking targets in Syria.
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"No matter what you do to cut the route, the matter is over and the resistance possesses precision and non-precision rockets and weapons capabilities," Nasrallah said on Thursday in a televised speech, as quoted by the Iranian state-funded news channel Press TV.
He went on to warn Israel of a fate "it has never expected" if Israel launches a war against Lebanon.
Nasrallah reiterated support for Tehran, which was hit by US sanctions following Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. The Hezbollah leader also reaffirmed Hezbollah's objection to Trump's long-awaited peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, billed the "deal of the century," which is to be unveiled this month.
Hezbollah is a Lebanon-based Shia group founded in the 1980s, which has engaged earlier in several military conflicts with Israel. While it is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel, Hezbollah is recognized as a legitimate political party in Lebanon and enjoys close relations with Iran.