Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz has warned that if the ceasefire along the Lebanese border collapses, Israeli forces will no longer differentiate between the Lebanese state and Hezbollah militants.
During a visit to northern Israel, Katz demanded that the Lebanese government “authorise the Lebanese army to enforce their part, to keep Hezbollah away from the Litani and to dismantle all the infrastructure.”
“If the ceasefire collapses, there will be no more exemption for the state of Lebanon. We will enforce the agreement with maximum impact and zero tolerance,” Katz said. “If until now we have differentiated between Lebanon and Hezbollah, that will no longer be the case.”
Lebanon’s health ministry reports that Israeli attacks inside Lebanon since 7 October 2023 have killed more than 3,000 people and injured over 13,000. Israel has acknowledged conducting pager and walkie-talkie explosions in September, along with recent extensive airstrikes which it says targeted Hezbollah infrastructure.
The Israeli military has banned civilians in neighbouring Lebanon from returning to dozens of southern villages, where tens of thousands have been forcibly displaced. Similarly, many Israelis in the north have fled their homes due to persistent exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces since October.
“If we return to war we will act strongly, we will go deeper, and the most important thing they need to know, that there will be no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon,” Katz added.
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