Israel’s Defense Minister Says Hezbollah ‘Will Pay Increasing Price’

18 September 2024, Israel, Haifa: Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant speaks to Israeli army soldiers during his visit to the Ramat David airbase. (Ariel Hermoni/GPO/dpa)
18 September 2024, Israel, Haifa: Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant speaks to Israeli army soldiers during his visit to the Ramat David airbase. (Ariel Hermoni/GPO/dpa)
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Israel’s Defense Minister Says Hezbollah ‘Will Pay Increasing Price’

18 September 2024, Israel, Haifa: Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant speaks to Israeli army soldiers during his visit to the Ramat David airbase. (Ariel Hermoni/GPO/dpa)
18 September 2024, Israel, Haifa: Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant speaks to Israeli army soldiers during his visit to the Ramat David airbase. (Ariel Hermoni/GPO/dpa)

Israel’s defense minister said Thursday that Hezbollah “will pay an increasing price” as Israel seeks to make conditions near its border with Lebanon safe enough for residents to return to their homes.

Yoav Gallant’s comments came as Israel and Hezbollah exchanged strikes and the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, vowed retaliation against Israel for a mass bombing attack in Lebanon.

“Our goal is to ensure the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes. As time goes by, Hezbollah will pay an increasing price,” said Gallant. “The sequence of our military actions will continue.”

Nasrallah said on Thursday this week’s deadly attack on the Iran-backed group’s communications devices was a “severe blow” that crossed a “red line.”

He added group is investigating how the two-day attack, which killed more than 30, wounded thousands and was widely believed to be carried out by Israel.

“Yes, we were subjected to a huge and severe blow,” he said. “The enemy crossed all boundaries and red lines.”

As usual, Nasrallah spoke by video from an undisclosed location. Hezbollah typically convenes a rally for supporters to watch his speeches on a big screen, but this time they did not.



Security Council Voices 'Strong Concern' for UNIFIL after Israeli Attacks

11 October 2024, Lebanon, Qliyaa: United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) peace keeping troops from the Spanish contingent conduct an early morning patrol in the southern Lebanese village of Qliyaa. Photo: Stringer/dpa
11 October 2024, Lebanon, Qliyaa: United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) peace keeping troops from the Spanish contingent conduct an early morning patrol in the southern Lebanese village of Qliyaa. Photo: Stringer/dpa
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Security Council Voices 'Strong Concern' for UNIFIL after Israeli Attacks

11 October 2024, Lebanon, Qliyaa: United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) peace keeping troops from the Spanish contingent conduct an early morning patrol in the southern Lebanese village of Qliyaa. Photo: Stringer/dpa
11 October 2024, Lebanon, Qliyaa: United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) peace keeping troops from the Spanish contingent conduct an early morning patrol in the southern Lebanese village of Qliyaa. Photo: Stringer/dpa

The UN Security Council expressed “strong concern” Monday as Israel has fired on and wounded UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon during intensified fighting, reiterating its support for their role in supporting security in the region.

It's the first statement by the U.’s most powerful body since Israel's attacks on the positions of the peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL began last week, drawing international condemnation.

According to The Associated Press, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told reporters that Secretary-General António Guterres confirmed Monday that peacekeepers will remain in all their positions even as Israel has urged the peacekeepers to move 5 kilometers north during its ground invasion in Lebanon.

Israel has been escalating its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon across a UN-drawn boundary between the two countries.

The Security Council statement, issued after emergency closed consultations on Lebanon, did not name either Israel, Lebanon or Hezbollah. Read by Swiss UN Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl, the council's current president, it urges all parties “to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and UN premises.”

US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters that “it’s good that the council can speak with one voice on what’s on the minds of all people around the world right now — and it’s the situation in Lebanon.”

The council's statement sends a message to the Lebanese people “that the council cares, that the council is watching this issue and that the council today spoke with one voice,” Wood said.

Council members also expressed “deep concern” at civilian casualties and suffering, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the rising number of internally displaced people.

More than 1,400 people in Lebanon, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million displaced in the past month. Around 60 Israelis have been killed in Hezbollah strikes in the past year. Israel says it wants to drive the group away from the border so some 60,000 displaced Israelis can return to their homes.

The Security Council statement called on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law, which requires the protection of civilians.
Council members also called for the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war “and recognized the need for further practical measures to achieve that outcome.”

That resolution calls for the Lebanese army to deploy throughout the south and for all armed groups, including Hezbollah, to be disarmed — neither of which has happened in the past 18 years.

Lacroix, the undersecretary-general for peace operations, told reporters after his closed briefing to the Security Council that five UNIFIL peacekeepers have been injured in recent days and that the UN has protested to Israel.

Israel has indicated “investigations will be carried out regarding some of these incidents ... and we will see what comes out of this,” he said.
Israeli Army spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani asserted Sunday that Israel has tried to maintain constant contact with UNIFIL and that any instance of UN forces being harmed will be investigated at “the highest level.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for UNIFIL to heed Israel’s warnings to evacuate, accusing them of “providing a human shield” to Hezbollah.

“We regret the injury to the UNIFIL soldiers, and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injury. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone,” he said Sunday in a video addressed to the UN secretary-general, who has been banned from entering Israel.

Lacroix on Monday stressed that all parties have a responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the peacekeepers.
He also said it’s important that the peacekeepers stay in their positions “because we all hope there will be a return to the negotiation table, and that there will be finally a real effort to full implementation of resolution 1701.”