Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Friday that Israel will keep striking Lebanon until it disarms Hezbollah, a day after Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs.
"There will be no calm in Beirut, and no order or stability in Lebanon, without security for the State of Israel. Agreements must be honored and if you do not do what is required, we will continue to act, and with great force," Katz said in a statement.
On Thursday, Katz in a statement praised the Israeli air force for “perfect execution” of the strikes and said Israel will “continue to enforce the ceasefire rules without any compromise.”
He said Israel holds the “Lebanese government directly responsible for preventing violations of the ceasefire and all terrorist activity" against Israel.
The strikes marked the first time in more than a month that Israel had struck on the outskirts of the capital and the fourth time since a US-brokered ceasefire agreement ended the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah in November.
Israel posted a warning ahead of the strikes on X announcing that it would hit eight buildings at four locations.
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began on Oct. 8, 2023 when the Lebanese group began launching rockets across the border in support of Hamas in Gaza. Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling and the two were quickly locked in a low-level conflict that continued for nearly a year before escalating into full-scale war in September 2024.
Katz said Friday he was responding directly to condemnation by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who a day earlier called the strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs a "flagrant violation" of the November ceasefire, carried out "on the eve of a sacred religious festival" -- the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.
Aoun said the strikes were "irrefutable proof of the aggressor's refusal... of a just peace in our region"
