Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a veiled threat to the Hezbollah leadership warning that members of its group were not immune to IDF reprisal actions.
“I suggest that Hezbollah learn what Hamas has already learned in recent months: No terrorist is immune,” Netanyahu said.
He spoke close to one week after Deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri was assassinated in Beirut. Israel has been accused of killing him but has not taken responsibility for it.
Netanyahu also spoke amid a week of high-level diplomacy, including regional visits by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is scheduled to visit Israel later this week, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who visited Lebanon on Saturday.
Both men have spoken, as has Netanyahu and caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib have all spoken of the importance of preventing the outbreak of an all-out war on the Israeli-Lebanese border where the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah has entrenched itself.
But none of them have put forward a diplomatic roadmap for preventing the outbreak of war.
Violence on that border has continued to escalate since the Hamas October 7 attack against Israel that sparked the Gaza war.
"I have a clear message for our enemies: What happened on October 7 will not happen again,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly government meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday.
“This is the commitment of my government, and this is the reason why our soldiers in the field are giving their lives,” Netanyahu said as he pledged not to end the war until he had destroyed Hamas.
“The war must not be stopped until we achieve all of its goals: Eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel. I say this to both our enemies and our friends. This is our responsibility and our commitment.
Restoring the safety of the citizens
“Every other consideration must be set aside, and we must continue until total victory. This victory will be achieved only when we complete our goals and when we restore security to residents of the north and south alike,” he said.
Netanyahu referenced ins remarks the residents of both Israel’s southern and northern border were evacuated immediately following the October 7 attack.
“We are determined to defend our citizens and to return the residents of the north safely to their homes. This is a national goal that we all share and which we are all working to achieve responsibly. If we can, we will do so diplomatically, and if not, we will work in other ways,” Netanyahu stated.
Minister Benny Gantz stated. “The reality where the citizens of Northern Israel cannot return to their homes - requires an urgent solution.
“The world must remember that it was the terrorist organization Hezbollah that initiated the escalation. Israel is interested in a diplomatic solution, but if one cannot be found - Israel and the IDF will remove the threat.
“All of the War Cabinet’s members share this view. The only consideration here is Israel’s security and nothing else. That is our duty to our country and our citizens,” he said.