Largest Israeli energy company starts exercises for a war scenario with Hezbollah

Israel’s largest energy company, the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), is planning unprecedented large-scale exercises in preparation for a possible war with Hezbollah, Israeli media reported.

Last month, Shaul Goldstein, CEO of Noga, the company that manages the electricity system, warned that the Lebanese resistance could easily paralyze “Israel’s” power grid and plunge the occupied territory into darkness.

“Let’s say a rocket hits an electricity plant and causes a blackout for one hour, two hours, three hours, 24 hours, 48 ​​hours, 72 hours and so on. What would happen to Israel in such a situation? The bottom line is that life in Israel would be impossible after 72 hours,” he said at the time.

The IEC said the drills would begin on Sunday and end on Thursday, with the main goal being to practice restoring electricity in the event of a war with Hezbollah. It also confirmed that Hezbollah’s headquarters north of Tel Aviv would be the center of operations.

Read more: Israeli electricity company cannot tolerate power outage during war in the north

Goldstein under fire

The exercise simulates scenarios of damage to substations and power outages in large areas.

During the exercise, convoys of heavy trucks carrying large transformers specially purchased for extreme scenarios will travel along designated roads and deliver their cargo to four secret locations in northern Palestine to restore power.

Goldstein had previously faced severe criticism for his comments from the IEC’s Director General, who described his statement as “irresponsible, unrealistic and a cause of unnecessary public panic”.

In March Channel 11 The website published a report with audio recordings of the Israeli Health Minister warning of an unprecedented scenario of a prolonged power outage in all regions, a situation that “Israel” has never experienced before.

Read more: Iraqi resistance attacks power plant in Tel Aviv

The report says this scenario provides the Israeli Emergency Authority with “a very detailed overview of what could happen in Israel if a full-scale war with Lebanon were to break out on the northern front.”

The news channel said at the time that Israel was preparing for multiple power outages affecting over 60% of its regions, each lasting about 48 hours, while local blackouts were expected to last up to three weeks.

Hezbollah has repeatedly warned the occupying power against aggression against Lebanon, even if it is only of “limited scope”.

The leader of the Lebanese resistance, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has repeatedly stated that if Israel were to impose a war on the country, Hezbollah would fight “without any inhibitions or restrictions.”