On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz raised the ceiling of threats after a widespread escalation in southern Lebanon on Saturday, vowing to “strike hard” and stressing that Israel will not keep what he described as any “open account” in any arena.
Katz wrote on the “X” platform: “No account will remain open in any arena. We will strike forcefully in defense of our soldiers and citizens.”
His position came the day after 11 people, including 3 children, were martyred in Israeli raids on southern Lebanon on Saturday, the highest daily toll since the signing of the framework agreement between the two countries late last June.
The Israeli army said that the raids it launched on the town of Ansar targeted a Hezbollah military official, and came in response to an operation carried out by the party against its forces.
The army added, in a statement on the “X” platform, that its forces targeted a command headquarters belonging to Hezbollah, and announced the targeting of Ali Samir al-Hajj Hassan, who it said was a sector commander in the party’s “Radwan Force.”
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that the raid on the town of Ansar resulted in the death of 7 people, including 3 children and 2 women.
The Ministry also reported that 4 people were martyred and 17 others were injured, including a child and 11 women, in another raid that targeted Al-Zahrani Monastery.
President Joseph Aoun said that the raid on Ansar led to “the martyrdom of an entire family,” considering that the attacks constitute a “clear message” to the negotiating track and American efforts aimed at implementing the framework agreement between the two countries.
On the other hand, Doron Spielman, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Agence France-Presse on Saturday that the Israeli strikes against Hezbollah “should give the talks a strong impetus and make them more serious, and not lead to the opposite.”
For its part, Hezbollah said that the Lebanese authorities should not continue the “path of humiliating direct negotiations” with Israel, considering that “Israel’s attacks and attempts to impose a fait accompli cannot continue, and will be met with what suits it.”
