Former Lebanese Minister of the Environment Wiam Wahhab said in a February 25, 2024 interview with Al-Jadeed TV (Lebanon) that Israel will not dare to enter a ground war in Lebanon, because the Israelis know "what Hizbullah has." He said that Hizbullah has Javelin and Stinger missiles that it purchased on the black market in Ukraine. Wahhab added that he also has bought such missiles and added: "You should buy some too. It's not a problem." He said that the Israelis know they will be "destroyed" by Hizbullah and that in such a case, Syria and Iraq will also attack Israel with a "party" of missiles.
Wiam Wahhab: "Israel is incapable of waging a ground war against Lebanon. Listen carefully to what I am saying. Ground war…"
Interviewer: "What about from the air?"
Wahhab: "They can, but Hizbullah has prepared itself for a missile-launching party at the cities in Palestine, is a manner unparalleled since the establishment of Israel. If Hizbullah is attacked… Note that attacking Hizbullah is not like attacking Hamas. If Hizbullah is attacked, Syria will join the war, and Syria has tens of thousands of missiles.
"It is true that a lot of the Syrian infrastructure will be destroyed, but Syria will not leave Hizbullah to face this all by itself. Iraq will play a part in this war, and you cannot know where this could lead.
"The Israelis know that Hizbullah has prepared tens of thousands of missiles, which would be launched from Lebanon, from Al-Al-Quasayr, from Iraq, from many places, and would strike the cities in Palestine. The Israelis know this, otherwise they would have launched a war yesterday."
Interviewer: "Will Israel dare to wage this war?"
Wahhab: "If you mean ground war, then absolutely not."
Interviewer: "Why not?"
Wahhab: "Because in a ground war, HIzbullah will destroy them. Israel knows what Hizbullah has. They know Hizbullah has Javelin missiles that they bought in the black market in Ukraine. They also have Stinger missiles…"
Interviewer: "Who bought them? Hizbullah?"
Wahhab: "What's the problem? I bought [missiles]. It's black market…"
Interviewer: "Why did you buy missiles?"
Wahhab: "You should buy some too. It's not a problem. What I mean is that these missiles are in the market and you can buy them. There is a black market in Ukraine. Zelensky is a con man. He and his cronies are thieves. They want to sell."