Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Death of four Israeli soldiers escalated violence during an unstable ceasefire. “With all due respect to Americans, Israel must make it clear to the world that the blood of our children and the security of our citizens will not be sacrificed.”
Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvirdeclared this Thursday that “all of Lebanon must burn”following the announcement of the deaths of four Israeli soldiers.
“With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the world that the blood of our children and the security of our citizens will not be sacrificed. All of Lebanon must burn,” he said in a statement.
The Israeli Army announced this Thursday the death of four of its soldiers, killed in operations in southern Lebanon. “They died as a result of a projectile [drone explosivo] that hit a tank in southern Lebanon,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported, attributing the attack to the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.
Among the dead was Lieutenant Colonel Dor Gedalya, 32, and three other soldiers whose names were not released. The statement also did not specify when the four IDF members were killed.
In another statement, the Israeli army indicated that, on Friday night, an IDF reserve officer was seriously injured and three soldiers, including reservists and active duty, suffered minor injuries following another attack with an explosive drone, also in southern Lebanon.
These were the first Israeli losses since the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran on Sunday, which aims to end the war in the Middle East on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel and the Shiite movement Hezbollah, an ally of Tehran, are in conflict.
At least 18 people died and more than 30 were injured in a new wave of bombings carried out by the Israeli army against several locations in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported today.
Currently in open war, there are no direct diplomatic relations between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, with the Lebanese State, the US, Iran and the UN trying to contain the escalation.
On June 3, Israel and Lebanon announced the implementation of a ceasefire, conditional on the complete end of Hezbollah fire and the withdrawal of its operatives from the sector south of the Litani River; the creation of pilot zones under the exclusive control of the Lebanese Army was also planned. But in practice, US-brokered ceasefire is not stopping the war in southern Lebanon.
Israel refuses to withdraw completely and talks about a security zone in southern Lebanon.
The UN describes a very deteriorated situation near the Blue Line: increased fire from both sides, deeper Israeli advance into Lebanon, destruction of homes and civil infrastructure, blocked roads and mines making UNIFIL’s mission difficult. The United Nations force says it remains on the ground, but in “extraordinary” conditions.
