Ashkenazi: Hizbullah Poses Biggest Challenge to Israeli Army

Former Israeli Army Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi has said that Hizbullah poses the greatest challenge to the Jewish state’s military.

"Despite the criticism against the Second Lebanon War, deterrence has increased in its wake…. Still, if Hizbullah wanted to, it could fire a massive amount of rockets at nearly any point on Israel's map,” Ashkenazi said during a conference at Bar Ilan University on Wednesday.

“But it (Hizbullah) could never take Galilee, any more than Hamas could take the Negev,” he said.

Ashkenazi said that the region's agenda is being dictated by two non-Arab countries – Iran and Turkey.

“Without Iran's support, Hamas and Hizbullah would not be what they are today, so the Israeli army must be prepared for the Iranian challenge,” he told the conference.