Israel defence minister says ‘no calm in Beirut’ unless Hezbollah stops attacks

Israel’s defence minister said Monday there would be “no calm in Beirut” if Hezbollah attacks continued and vowed to establish a military-controlled zone in the area of south Lebanon’s Litani River.

“The Dahiyeh in Beirut is no different from the communities in northern Israel — if there is no calm in the north, there will be no calm in Beirut,” Israel Katz said in a statement released by his office, referring to the Beirut southern suburb and Hezbollah stronghold where he had earlier Monday ordered strikes.

“At the same time, the IDF continues to operate with fire and manoeuvre against Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure in Lebanon… in order to push threats away from IDF forces and from the residents of the State of Israel, and to turn the Litani area into a zone under IDF security control, free of weapons and terrorists,” Katz added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to push deeper into Lebanon after announcing on Friday that a large part of south Lebanon was now considered a “combat zone”, despite a ceasefire.

After the ceasefire came into effect on April 17, Israel established a “Yellow Line” about a dozen kilometres from its northern border, inside Lebanese territory.

Last week, Israel’s military declared all areas south of Lebanon’s Zahrani River — around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border and including the cities of Tyre and Nabatieh — to be “combat zones” and told residents to evacuate.

Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman, said on Monday the army had issued a new evacuation order for seven towns and villages north of the Zahrani.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Monday his country was facing “a vicious and reprehensible Israeli aggression”.

Israel and Hezbollah frequently accuse each other of violating the terms of the ceasefire.