Israeli official warns power grid not prepared for war with Hezbollah

'After 72 hours without power in Israel – it will be uninhabitable,' says CEO of company overseeing electrical systems.

Israel is utterly unprepared for a war with Hezbollah and for the toll such a conflict could take on the country's power infrastructure, the CEO of a company that manages and oversees Israel's electrical systems on behalf of the government said on Thursday.

"We are not ready for a real war. We live in a fantasy world, in my eyes," said Shaul Goldstein, head of Noga – the Israel Independent System Operator. Later, in an interview with Kan Public Broadcaster, he seemed to walk his comments back somewhat: "I said irresponsible things. I shouldn't have."

"If Nasrallah decides to paralyze Israel's power grid, he only needs to pick up the phone and call the head of Beirut's power grid, which is [technically] identical to Israel's." Goldstein said, before noting that "the upside is that we have invested a lot in protection, working together with Israel Electric Company."