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Lebanon
Two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, incited striking the Lebanese capital Beirut and called for escalating military operations in Lebanon.
The two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, incited striking the Lebanese capital Beirut.
While the world awaits an agreement to end the war between the United States of America and Iran - which is likely to include Lebanon - Ben-Gvir and Smotrich called for escalating military operations in Lebanon, demanding strikes on Beirut in response to Hezbollah's drone attacks.
Ben-Gvir said in a post on the "X" platform: "It is time for the Prime Minister to take a firm stance with Donald Trump and tell him that Israel will resume the war in Lebanon." He added: "Electricity must be cut off to Lebanon, the Zahrani River must be seized, and intensive fighting must be resumed," referring to a river in southern Lebanon, located about 40 kilometers north of the Lebanese border with the Hebrew state.
For his part, Smotrich called for carrying out strikes on Beirut to confront Hezbollah's drone attacks on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and across the border. He said in a post on the "Telegram" application: "There is an urgent need to end the threat posed by Hezbollah's explosive drones." He added: "For every explosive drone, 10 buildings must fall in Beirut."
Smotrich indicated that he approved a special budget of about two billion shekels ($692 million) to enable the defense establishment to develop countermeasures against drones.
The ministers' statements came after the Israeli army announced the killing of another soldier in southern Lebanon.
Twenty-three Israeli soldiers and one civilian have been killed since the war in Lebanon erupted on March 2, after Hezbollah carried out a missile attack on the Hebrew state, against the backdrop of the US-Israeli attack on Iran in February. Israeli raids on Lebanon have resulted in the deaths of 3,123 people, according to the latest toll from the Ministry of Health.
The Israeli army announced the establishment of a "yellow line" in southern Lebanon about 10 kilometers north of the border, and banned anyone from approaching it. Its evacuation warnings - which include towns located tens of kilometers from the border - are also emptying many areas of their residents.
