Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel on Monday with an attack on one of its offshore oil rigs, according to an interview broadcast on the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV channel.
Hezbollah’s secretary-general has been vocal about opposition to Israeli extraction of natural gas, which Lebanon claims is done from oil reserves within its maritime borders, specifically the Karish gas field.
“All of Israel’s gas fields are under threat from our missiles - not just Karish,” Nasrallah said. “The ships that extract the gas are Israeli, even if under a Greek banner.
“There is no target in the sea or in the air that is not within the range of Hezbollah's precise missiles. No one wants war, and the decision is in Israel's hands, not in our hands," he said.
"If the extraction of gas from ‘Karish’ begins in September before Lebanon gets its rights, we will have a problem," Nasrallah warned.
Israel disputes Lebanese claims, and tensions with Hezbollah come as Lebanon and Israel hold negotiations mediated by the U.S. to reach an understanding.
The Iran-backed Shiite militant group and political party was responsible for three drones approaching Israel’s gas rigs on July 2, prompting Israel to destroy the drones.
Nasrallah touted his group’s drone capabilities, claiming: "we have drones that can evade the enemy; a number of drones in recent years entered parts of the Galilee and returned without being shot down.”
The story is reprinted with permission from i24News