Israel threatens to enhance attacks against Hizbollah
(MENAFN) Israel warned on Sunday that it would intensify military operations against Hizbollah in southern Lebanon following a recent air strike that killed four people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Despite a ceasefire reached in November 2024, Israel continues to maintain troops in five areas along southern Lebanon and carries out regular strikes. Defence Minister Israel Katz said, “Hizbollah is playing with fire, and the president of Lebanon is dragging his feet. The Lebanese government's commitment to disarm Hizbollah and remove it from southern Lebanon must be implemented. Maximum enforcement will continue and even intensify — we will not allow any threat to the residents of the north.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hizbollah of attempting to rearm. “We expect the Lebanese government to fulfil its commitment, to disarm Hizbollah, but it is clear we will exercise our right of self-defence under the terms of ceasefire,” he said. “We will not allow Lebanon to become a renewed front against us, and we will act as necessary.”
Northern Israeli communities near the border were evacuated for months after Hizbollah launched rockets in response to the Gaza war in October 2023. The subsequent year-long conflict left the Iran-backed militant group weakened, though it remains armed and financially resilient. Israel killed Hizbollah’s longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah in September 2024, along with several senior leaders.
Since the ceasefire, the US has pressured Lebanon to disarm Hizbollah, a move opposed by the group and its allies. Lebanon’s government has begun implementing a plan to establish a state monopoly on weapons in the south.
In recent days, Israel has escalated strikes, including a ground raid into southern Lebanon on Thursday. The latest air strike on Saturday, which hit a car in Nabatiyeh district, killed four people. Israel confirmed one victim was a member of Hizbollah’s Radwan Force involved in transferring weapons and rebuilding the group’s infrastructure, while the three others were also affiliated with Hizbollah. The Israeli military said the attack targeted “terrorists’ activities that constituted a threat to the State of Israel and its civilians, and violated the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
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