Hizbullah deputy secretary-general: If Israel attacks, we will be ready
Sheikh Naim Qassem tells al-Jazeera his organization completed prepping its men, infrastructure; Lebanese source says Hizbullah stronger than ever
"We have completed ... our ground work in preparing our men, as well as our land, so that we would be ready if the Israeli (government) thought one day" of launching another attack, he said.
"We have evaluated the events of the second war on Lebanon ... and looked at the points of strength and weakness in a way that we would learn from the results of this war," he said of last summer's war in southern Lebanon.
Lebanese security and diplomatic sources said that the organization may have rebuilt itself, but has no intention of provoking a new conflict at this time. Sources said that Hizbullah has rebuild it rockets reserves, and has also received new, more advanced anti-airplane and anti-tank missiles through Syria.
"Everything it took Hizbullah six years to achieve (since Israel withdrew from Lebanon), it has now achieved in six months," said a Lebanese source. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, added that Hizbullah is in better shape now than in was before the war.
According to the same sources, Hizbullah built a new line of defense, including trenches and fortified concrete underground buildings, and has sent hundreds of its troops to training camps in Iran.
Over the past week, senior officials in Hizbullah responded to publication of the Winograd report by saying "Israel was in a state of confusion this summer."
A senior official said the report "proves just how unstable Israeli politics and military leadership are, leading to all those unfortunate decisions during the war."
