Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Sunday contrasted the “evil” Iranian regime’s targeting of civilians with Israel’s selective targeting of military sites.
He spoke during a tour with international media of the Arab Israeli town of Zarzir, which was struck by an Iranian missile on Friday, injuring close to 60 people.
The IDF estimated that the Iranian missile broke apart before an Israeli interceptor hit it. As a result, the missile’s warhead was not destroyed and hit the town.
Calling it a war crime, Sa’ar noted that this was not the first time for the Iranian regime. Iran also targeted civilians in June 2025’s “Operation Rising Lion.”
All the casualties Israel experienced during the last two weeks were civilians, “without exception,” Sa’ar said.
Zarzir suffered a direct hit around 2:30 a.m. on March 13. Some 300 homes were damaged when a fire started. Vehicles also caught fire. Sa’ar said that he was going to visit a mosque in the village that had suffered damage.
Israel’s Security Cabinet set a clear purpose for the operation, which is to eliminate the long-term existential threat emanating from Iran, Sa’ar said.
“We don’t want to go every year to another war,” he said.
Israel is working in “an unprecedented manner” with the United States. “We see eye to eye. Consultations are taking place every day,” he said.” I can assure you that we also share a decisiveness to continue until we will achieve the goals of this war.”
Sa’ar also addressed Lebanon’s failure to confront Iranian proxy Hezbollah, forcing Israel to take action. “To be frank, during all the time since the ceasefire, [starting in] Nov. 2024, Lebanon hadn’t really done what it should have done in order to dismantle Hezbollah, and we see now the results,” Sa’ar said.
Israel still expects Lebanon to take “serious steps” to stop the terror group’s missile attacks against Israel, he said.
On Sunday, the IDF announced that it had identified an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) launch cell operating in western Iran.
Israeli aircraft struck the hangar and then identified the operatives of the launch cell fleeing the structure. Within seconds of their escape, the Israeli Air Force carried out additional strikes and eliminated the cell.
Their elimination was made possible due to the aerial superiority achieved by the Israeli Air Force in western and central Iran, the IDF said.
