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Israel’s Energy Insecurity: How Blackouts Could Paralyze the Occupation State
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Israel regularly threatens to ‘bomb Lebanon back to the stone age.’ But in any full-scale war, it is the occupation state’s energy infrastructure that will likely collapse first – a catastrophe for Israelis who have never known blackouts and shortages…
Stasa Salacanin reports for The Cradle…
As clashes on Lebanon’s border and the potential for war with Hezbollah intensify, Israel grows more concerned over its vulnerability to energy supply shortages and power grid security. With ceasefire negotiations heading nowhere, many experts and Israeli insiders believe that energy security may end up becoming the occupation state’s Achilles heel.
Lessons learned from Ukraine show just how challenging it remains to protect energy infrastructure during a hot conflict. Despite Israel’s “advanced” air defenses, the occupation state’s energy system remains highly vulnerable to attacks. This was made evident earlier this year when power outages affected areas in Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, and Beersheba, leaving thousands without electricity.
Concerns were further heightened when Shaul Goldstein, a senior state electricity official, admitted that Israel’s energy sector is unprepared for a major war. He warned that in a war with Hezbollah, Israel’s power infrastructure could suffer severe disruptions.
His blunt statement – “after 72 hours without electricity, it will be impossible to live here” – sparked a wave of public anxiety. Although Energy Minister Eli Cohen and Israel Electric Corporation’s CEO Meir Spiegler criticized Goldstein’s comments, they nonetheless raised alarm among both officials and citizens. As a result, many Israelis have been panic-buying diesel generators in anticipation of future outages.
While both Hezbollah and the Israeli military appear keen to avoid wider direct conflict – as it would almost certainly draw in allies from both sides – tensions remain very high. The situation escalated after Israel’s April attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, followed by Iran’s missile and drone retaliation, and then more recently following Israel’s assassinations of top Hezbollah and Hamas officials. Though responses to Israeli aggressions are calculated to minimize damage, the risk of miscalculation looms large, threatening to spark a more destructive war.
Hezbollah’s message to Tel Aviv
In June, Hezbollah released a video, reportedly captured by a drone breaching Israeli airspace, revealing sensitive infrastructure and energy sites in and around the port city of Haifa. Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned that the Lebanese resistance would fight “without constraints, rules, or limits” if war were imposed on the country. Speaking to The Cradle, veteran global energy expert Cyril Widdershoven says:
If a full-scale confrontation starts between Hezbollah/Iran and Israel, for sure, the Israeli energy grid/system will be targeted. How far Hezbollah will be able to hit the system to bring Israel to its knees is unknown. But looking at the yearlong preparations of the Israeli army, airforce, and navy, measures have been taken to counter this or even pre-emptively take out Hezbollah/Iranian capabilities for sure.
Nevertheless, the war in Ukraine has demonstrated that even the most sophisticated air defenses – whether western or Russian ones – cannot fully shield energy systems from attacks. Long-range drones, in particular, have proven devastating, and Hezbollah is believed to possess a formidable arsenal of precision-guided missiles, drones, and torpedoes capable of striking deep into Israeli territory.
Continue this report at The Cradle
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September 8, 2024 at 07:47AM
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