If Lebanon’s government fails to prevent Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks on Israel, Jerusalem will “take control of the territory and do it ourselves,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened on Thursday.
“The prime minister and I have instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare to expand its operations in Lebanon and to restore quiet and security to the northern communities,” the defense minister stated.
“We promised quiet and security to the northern communities, and that is exactly what we will do,” Katz added in a Hebrew-language statement.
Hezbollah overnight on Wednesday launched its largest rocket barrage at the Jewish state since the start of the current war, in what the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said was a combined assault that also included several volleys of ballistic missiles launched by Iran.
According to the Magen David Adom emergency response group, two people sustained light wounds from “flying objects” during the attacks.
The two—a woman with a head injury and a man with a hand wound—were taken to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. In addition, several people were treated for injuries sustained while running for shelter.
Speaking during an operational briefing at IDF Northern Command on Monday morning, Katz said that the decision to advance into Lebanon following Hezbollah’s March 2 decision to join the war on Iran’s behalf was “morally and operationally correct, and enables what comes next.”
“It gives confidence to the communities that what happened will not return,” the minister stated, referencing Jerusalem’s past decision to evacuate northern communities for well over a year in response to Hezbollah’s cross-border attacks that started on Oct. 7, 2023, and paused following a U.S.-brokered ceasefire on Nov. 27, 2024.
This time, he vowed, “There will be no evacuation, no abandonment.”
“Everyone remains on their land, in their home, wherever they are. This is the number one mission—to defend the communities and give them security against raids and against anti-tank fire,” continued Katz.
The evacuation of Southern Lebanon and large parts of Beirut will allow the IDF to “thwart threats we have not yet managed to thwart previously, making this region even safer than before ‘Operation Roaring Lion.’”
Katz added, “We certainly must not only refrain from withdrawing in the face of Hezbollah, but take advantage of the opportunity to strike it.”
Lebanon’s official government has failed to live up to its commitments under the 2024 ceasefire, which forbade the presence of terrorists in the south and tasked the Lebanese Armed Forces with disarming them.
“They allowed Hezbollah to move south,” Katz charged. “The conclusion is always that what we do not do, no one else will do. They are obligated and they must act, and we must ensure that these things happen.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday accused Hezbollah and Iran of working to “collapse” the Lebanese state and expressed his openness to holding “direct negotiations” with Israel, per AFP.
“Whoever launched those missiles wanted to bring about the collapse of the Lebanese state, plunging it into aggression and chaos ... all for the sake of the Iranian regime’s calculations,” he told European officials.
Aoun’s proposal reportedly called for “establishing a full truce” with the Jewish state, “logistical support” for the Lebanese Armed Forces to disarm Hezbollah, and direct talks under international auspices.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned Beirut over the weekend that if it fails to uphold the ceasefire deal, the Iranian-backed aggression “will bring catastrophic consequences upon Lebanon.”
“It is time for you, too, to take your destiny into your hands,” he told the Lebanese government, declaring that “in any case,” Jerusalem will do “everything necessary to protect our communities and our citizens.”
