Militant group Hezbollah is rapidly rearming and reinforcing positions in southern Lebanon in preparation for a new conflict with Israel, British newspaper the Observer reported on Sunday.
"Sure, we are rearming, we have even said that we have far more rockets and missiles than we did in 2006," a Hezbollah commander told the Observer speaking on condition of anonymity.
The 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel began after Hezbollah militants launched a cross-border attack and kidnapped two Israel Defense Forces soldiers.
"We had to blow up or leave some of our bunkers and fighting positions, but we still have plenty of capabilities in the south," the commander told the Observer. "We expect the Israelis to come soon, if not this winter, then they will wait until spring, when the ground isn’t too soft for their tanks."
Israeli commandos on Wednesday seized a ship that defense officials said was carrying hundreds of tons of weapons from Iran bound for Hezbollah guerrillas – the largest arms shipment Israel has ever commandeered.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is expected to respond to the seizure of the arms shipment on Wednesday, but the group has thus far denied a link to the freighter.
The Observer report also quoted a military expert on Hezbollah, who believes the group to be preparing for war with Israel.
"It’s clear that Hezbollah no longer controls the border, due to the presence of UNIFIL [United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon] troops," Andrew Exum, a military expert on Hezbollah at the Centre for New American Security, told the Guardian.
"They appear to be hardening the villages for this next round of fighting, while pushing their fixed positions north away from UNIFIL to protect the approaches to Beirut and the Bekaa Valley."
Israeli military and intelligence analysts have said that a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities would first require weakening Hezbollah’s capability to disrupt life in northern Israel with its rockets, according to the Observer report.