Jump in generator purchases after electricity official warned Israel not ready for Hezbollah war – report

There was a dramatic rise in the number of generators purchased at the end of last week following a warning that Israel is not prepared for the damage its electricity infrastructure would sustain if a full-scale war were to break out with Hezbollah, Channel 12 reports.

The Machsanei Hashmal chain tells the outlet that its website saw five times the normal number of searches for generators after the comments by Shaul Goldstein, who leads Israel’s Independent System Operator Ltd, known by its Hebrew initials NOGA.

The chain says it saw a 108 percent jump in generator sales on Friday compared to normal Fridays.

Most of the sales were in Haifa and other northern towns, as well as Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion and Ashdod.

After his Thursday comments began grabbing headlines, Goldstein sought to walk some of them back, telling the Kan public broadcaster: “I made irresponsible remarks that I shouldn’t have.”

His warning came amid increasing concern that the situation on Israel’s northern border could escalate to a full-fledged war between Israel and the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah. The Shiite militia is believed to possess some 150,000 rockets that it could use to target Israeli infrastructure.