1 of 2 | Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz (C) holds an Israel Defense Forces General Staff meeting on Monday. Photo courtesy Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz/X
There will be no cease-fire in Lebanon, Israel’s new defense minister declared Tuesday, countering claims from Israel’s foreign minister, who a day prior said that progress had been made to end the fighting with Hezbollah.
The confusing back-and-forth comes days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named Israel Katz minister of defense, replacing Yoav Gallant due to differences over how Israel has conducted its war against Hamas. Advertisement
Katz, a staunch far-right supporter of Netanyahu’s war, was the foreign minister, and the prime minister named Gideon Saar his replacement.
On Monday, Saar told foreign reporters in a press conference that “there is some progress in the attempts to reach a settlement in Lebanon.”
On Tuesday, Katz in a statement on X said that he told an Israel Defense Forces General Staff meeting on Monday: “In Lebanon, there will be no cease-fire and there will be no respite” until Israel’s war objectives have been met.
Israel has been fighting Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza since October of last year, during which it has also been trading attacks across the Lebanese border with Hezbollah, another Iran-proxy militia.
In mid-September, Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet updated its war objectives to include the return of the tens of thousands of northern Israelis evacuated from their homes due to the cross-border fighting with Hezbollah. Advertisement
The updated war objectives marked a transition in the fight, and since Sept. 23, Israel has greatly increased its airstrikes and launched ground incursions into Lebanon to achieve this new goal, killing thousands of people, including Hezbollah leaders and operatives as well as civilians.
Katz said in his Tuesday statement that the Israeli military “must continue the offensive actions to further diminish Hezbollah’s capabilities and realize the fruits of this victory.”
“We will continue to strike Hezbollah with full force until the war’s objectives are achieved,” he said.
“Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee its right to independently enforce and prevent terrorism, meeting the war’s objectives in Lebanon, disarming Hezbollah, pushing them beyond the Litani River and ensuring the safe return of northern residents to their homes.”
From Hezbollah, its spokesman, Mohammad Afif, denied on Monday having received proposals from Israel for a cease-fire, Lebanon’s Iran-aligned Al Mayadeen news organization reported.
Hezbollah “has received no updates and we are still gauging the situation,” he said during the press conference, noting that “we are ready for a prolonged war with the occupation on all levels.”
According to Lebanon’s ministry of health, more than 3,240 people have died, and more than 14,130 have been injured, during the year of fighting, though the majority of the casualties have occurred since mid-September. Advertisement
