Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant presenting evidence of an Iranian-built airstrip in south Lebanon, September 11, 2023. (Photo: Screenshot)

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday accused Iran of building an airstrip near the Israel-Lebanon border for use in terrorist attacks against the Jewish state.

Speaking at a security conference at Reichman University in Israel, Gallant revealed what he described as images of the airfield showing the flags of Iran and its chief proxy force, the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah. Gallant said the airstrip, which is about 12 miles north of the Israeli border near the Lebanese village of Birket Jabbour, was intended to be used for “terrorist objectives.”

“The land is Lebanese, the control is Iranian, and the target is Israel,” Gallant said. “If it comes to a conflict, we will not hesitate to activate the lethal force of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]. Hezbollah and Lebanon will pay heavy and painful prices.”

The airstrip is the latest example of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” of Iran and its proxies building up military infrastructure in south Lebanon. For months, Hezbollah and its front group “Green Without Borders,” which poses as an environmental group but has been designated by the United States as a terrorist organization, have constructed guard and observation posts along the Israeli-Lebanese border, as well as tents in Israeli territory. The construction recently prompted Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, to describe the situation as a “powder keg.”

In August, the United Nations Security Council renewed the mandate of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, who are in theory authorized by past resolutions to “take all necessary action … to ensure that [their] area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind.”

In practice, US and other diplomats have said the peacekeepers, formally known as the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), have allowed Hezbollah to operate with impunity in south Lebanon.

“We know UNIFIL has been unable to access a range of troubling sites across the Blue Line, including illegal firing ranges, Green Without Borders sites, rocket launch sites, and tunnel sites,” said US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, referring to the boundary separating Israel and Lebanon. “It is clear the main purpose of these sites is to facilitate Hezbollah’s operations in southern Lebanon along the Blue Line.”