Benjamin Netanyahu gives Israeli forces free rein to intervene in southern Lebanon despite the US-Iranian memorandum.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israeli forces had been given “full freedom” to act against any threat in southern Lebanon. He reiterated that troops would remain deployed in the area as long as necessary. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
“My instructions to the Israel Defense Forces, as well as the instructions of the Minister of Defense, are clear and have not changed. Our troops in southern Lebanon have full freedom of action to avert any direct or emerging threat to them or to the people of the north,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “The army has no restrictions on this matter,” he added.
In response, Hezbollah leader Naim Qasim rejected the preservation of the Israeli security zone in Lebanon, which extends about ten kilometers into Lebanese territory along the common border.
Lebanon engulfed by Hezbollah
Hezbollah, an ally of Tehran, dragged Lebanon into the Middle East war in early March when it began firing rockets at Israel in response to the killing of Iran’s top leader.
According to a survey by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Lebanon’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the damage to buildings in southern Lebanon caused during the latest fighting is estimated at around $1.38 billion. Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks have killed more than 4,100 people and driven more than a million from their homes since March 2.
