Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the Army this Monday to carry out new airstrikes against "terrorist targets" in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, in a context of escalating offensive and ground invasion in the neighboring country.
In a message disseminated on social networks, Netanyahu indicated that he has ordered "to attack terrorist targets in the Dahiye neighborhood" in reaction to "repeated violations of the ceasefire by the terrorist organization Hezbollah and attacks against cities and citizens" in Israeli territory.
Shortly after, and according to a statement issued by his office, he stressed that "there will be no situation where Hezbollah attacks our cities and our citizens while their terrorist headquarters in Beirut, in Dahiye, are on the sidelines."
Netanyahu added that "we continue to deepen our operational activities in southern Lebanon and eliminate Hezbollah strongholds," also assuring that "Hezbollah is fleeing." "We are determined to restore security to the residents of the north, just as we did for the residents of the south," he emphasized, alluding to the military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, for his part, reiterated that "if there is no peace in the north (of Israel), there will be no peace in Beirut." In the same vein, he warned that "we will not allow a reality that causes harm to our communities and citizens while peace is maintained in Beirut."
Katz pointed out that "the law in Beirut's Dahiye --referring to the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, where Hezbollah has a presence and support-- is the same as the law in the communities of northern Israel," before remarking that the country "is going through an unprecedented period in terms of security."
According to the minister, "during recent years, and even more so since October 7 (2023), we have been forced to confront complex threats, both overt and covert, in close and distant contexts," insisting that the Israeli Army "continues to operate" against Hezbollah in Lebanon, "achieving great successes and crushing the on-the-ground capabilities of the terrorist organization Hezbollah."
In this regard, he stressed that the objective is to "eliminate the threats to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and residents in the State of Israel and transform the region south of the Litani into an area under IDF security control and free of weapons and terrorists".
The pronouncements by Netanyahu and Katz came shortly after the Israeli Army confirmed the death of another soldier in a drone attack carried out by Hezbollah against a military detachment near Beaufort Castle, captured on Sunday by Israeli forces as part of the new incursion into Lebanese territory initiated in March.
Netanyahu had already indicated last week that Israeli forces are "intensifying" their offensive in Lebanon. Since the beginning of March, the attacks have caused the deaths of more than 3,300 people in the country, despite ongoing talks with the Lebanese government to try to reach a peace agreement.
Given this situation, the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, denounced this Monday on social media that the country "faces a fierce aggression" by Israel and has promised to "end the suffering of the Lebanese in general, and those in the south in particular," in addition to committing to "work on state building, reform, and justice."
The latest large-scale hostilities began on March 2, when Hezbollah launched a barrage of projectiles against Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the offensive initiated on February 28 by Israel and the United States against the Asian country.
Both sides had agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024, after thirteen months of fighting triggered by the attacks of October 7, 2023. However, since then Israel has maintained regular bombings of Lebanese territory and the presence of troops in various locations, claiming to be acting against Hezbollah, while Beirut and the group itself denounced these operations.