Outgoing Israeli air force chief Amikam Norkin said the Zionist entity no longer has unfettered air superiority and freedom of action in Lebanon’s skies.
In an interview broadcast on Tuesday, Norkin said after a drone was nearly shot down by an anti-aircraft missile over Lebanon about a year ago, “Israel realized that Hezbollah had some capabilities it was not previously aware of.”
Israeli officials realized aircraft were threatened by Hezbollah missiles over Lebanon, and decided to reduce the number of surveillance flights over its northern neighbor, harming Israel’s intelligence gathering capabilities, Norkin told the Kan public broadcaster.
The report added that Hezbollah is believed to be holding onto some weapons, like the anti-aircraft missiles, in case of war with Israel to surprise Israeli forces.
Earlier in February Hezbollah Secretray General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said Israeli drone flights over Lebanon have been greatly reduced citing the Resistance group’s improved air defenses.
Asked if the air force is ready to “attack Iran”, amid criticism within the Zionist entity that the occupation army is unprepared, Norkin hedged and said Tehran only returned to the top of the military’s agenda after the US pulled out of the nuclear deal in 2018, according t Israeli media.
“We need to present what we can do, not only in Iran, in 2022, 2023 and on. But we also need to stand by what we cannot do, because the air force head has a huge responsibility,” Norkin said. “And based on what answers they give, decisions are made by the leadership. So I only give accurate, reliable answers about what we can do.”
Kan said a longer version of the interview will be aired Thursday.
Source: Israeli media
