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Israeli military chief foresees multi-front war

09 October 2013 20:03 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Missiles hitting the nation's defense headquarters, senior officers abducted in the field and an onslaught of cyber attacks are amongst a host of scenarios that Israel's military chief says could see the country engaged in a future war fought on multiple fronts, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"The war could commence with a precise missile striking the general staff building in Tel Aviv or a cyber attack on sites that provide critical services to Israeli citizens -- traffic lights would stop working and the banks would be paralyzed," Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz told a security conference in remarks appearing Wednesday in the military's official site.

Another scenario that could potentially spark an all-out war involves radical Islamic militants attacking Israeli patrols on the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed.

"The chief of staff will be told that there are three kidnapped soldiers, one of whom is a battalion commander," Gantz said. " Responsibility for the incident will likely be taken by a terrorist organization, either from global jihad or an organization without a specific affiliation.

"The pastoral landscape of the Golan Heights... could turn with a sudden bang into a battleground of blood, fire and pillars of smoke," the military chief grimly predicted.

Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite militia, continues to pose a major threat to Israel, Gantz said. He postulated that the Lebanese group would retaliate to an Israeli response to an attack in the Golan by lobbing missiles at Israel's northern communities.

"The accuracy of their missiles will increase dramatically, and if Hezbollah chooses to strike a pinpoint target, almost anywhere in Israel, it could do so," Gantz was quoted as saying.

At the same time, he said, rockets could be fired towards the southern port city of Eilat by Sinai militants cooperating with Hezbollah, while Islamic Hamas operatives would storm the Erez border crossing between Israel and Gaza and attack the Israeli military's northern Gaza Brigade.

"Sounds imaginary?" Gantz asked the audience. "I don't believe so," he answered, saying that while the scenarios he presented are hypothetical and were derived from the current strategic reality of Israel's geopolitical neighborhood, they could all ultimately materialize -- over the next decade, or at any moment.

"Every small incident" could ignite the region in flames, he warned.

"The transfer of strategic weapons to unwanted hands, the uncovering of an incendiary tunnel that reaches the entrance of a town, an explosive device hitting a patrol... these are real examples from very recent days, which could lead to events that would see us capping a day in a way that we could not expect at its outset."

In light of the increased threats, the Israeli military is engaged in intensive preparations for all eventualities, including boosting cooperation between fighting forces from all branches of service, "nurturing" its human resources and upgrading weapon systems, Gantz said.