Alwaght- A top Lebanese army commander says the army is ready to repel any Israeli military aggression or infiltration into the country's borders amid escalating tensions between the two sides.
“The Army is ready on the southern border to face any Israeli military aggression, or any attempt to nibble at areas of the land or maritime borders,” Lebanese Army Chief General Joseph Aoun told a group of officers and soldiers on Thursday.
He also said the Lebanese army was determined "to defend Lebanese rights with all its means and capabilities."
Aoun further stressed that the army's readiness was parallel with the monitoring and dismantling of terrorist cells in Lebanon.
Israel launched two wars on Lebanon in 2000 and 2006, in both of which the Hezbollah resistance movement inflicted heavy losses on the regime’s military.
Israeli forces regularly violate Lebanon’s sovereignty and target Lebanese patrol soldiers. Israeli officials have even threatened another war on Lebanon.
Earlier this week, Lebanese President Michel Aoun censured Israel’s repeated violations of the Arab country's sovereignty, saying Beirut is prepared to counter any potential threat from the Tel Aviv regime.
Last month, Lebanon signed its first contracts to explore two offshore zones for oil and gas.
However, Lebanon face many challenges in this context, as the Israeli regime claims the “right” to Block 9, a triangle off the Lebanese coast that is around 860 square kilometers.
Israeli regime's war minister Avigdor Lieberman issued bellicose remarks after Lebanon started the processes of granting licenses for the drilling. The hawkish war minister said, “When they issue a tender on a gas field, including Block 9, which by any standard is ours ... this is very, very challenging and provocative conduct here.”
Lebanon's' Hezbollah resistance movement has maintained that the statements made by the Zionist war minister Avigdor Lieberman reflect the Israeli greed for seizing Lebanon resources, adding that they come in the context of enemy’s continuous aggression on the Lebanese sovereignty and legitimate rights.
