Israeli Hebrew-language Israel Hayom daily newspaper quoted the commander of the Israeli navy's Haifa base, Brigadier General Gil Aginsky, as alleging on Friday that Israeli naval forces are ready to face off any potential threat, noting that the Tel Aviv regime currently “faces two challenges at two levels: One on the surface of the water and one beneath. We know how to deal with any complex and thorny scenario. In relation to what is under the surface of the water, we are getting prepared and acquiring weapons to confront this stiff challenge,” the London-based and pan-Arab al-Araby al-Jadeed media outlet reported.
Aginsky noted that Hezbollah is working on an undersea attack tunnel that crosses into the occupied territories.
“They are active in sea water…. They intend to prevent us from being here, and if they can, they will do it. Our job is to prevent such a thing. We maintain and cover the northern border wall,” he said.
Aginsky went on to say that the Israeli army has learned lessons from the Hezbollah anti-ship missile attack on INS Hanit corvette on July 14, 2006, during Israel's 33-day war on Lebanon.
The Israeli naval commander highlighted that the vessel was struck 16 kilometers (9 miles) off the coast of the Lebanese capital Beirut, and that four Israeli marines were killed in the incident.