Israel Warns Lebanon of Power Outages

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen announced that if electricity in Israel is cut off for hours, it will be cut off in Lebanon for months. On Thursday, Shaul Goldstein, the CEO of Noga, which manages electricity systems in Israel, commented on assessments predicting disruptions in electricity supply in the event of an escalation of the war. Goldstein stated during a conference held in the city of Sderot, "Israel is considered an energy island, and that is in our interest." He added, "When I took office, I began investigating the real threat to the Israeli electricity sector." The official continued, "The bottom line is that after 72 hours without electricity (in the event of an escalation of the war), it becomes impossible to live here." He emphasized that his country's infrastructure is "in a bad state," clarifying, "We are not preparing for a real war. The good thing is that we have invested a lot in defense." In May, the energy minister reassured Israelis that there was no need to panic over the possibility of power cuts and interruption of energy supplies because "Israel has a wide range of electricity generation sources." Israel has been at war in Gaza against Hamas since October 7, while tensions continue in the north against Hezbollah. Experts warn of the possibility of the conflict expanding into a larger regional war, with ongoing exchanges of attacks between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.