After Trump bans it from bombing Lebanon, Israel vows 'full force' against 'threats' in neighboring country
Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that the Israeli army has been ordered to “act with full force” in Lebanon, even during the ceasefire, if it faces “any threat”, reports AFP.
Minister Katz said on Sunday on the sidelines of an event in the occupied West Bank that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “to act with full force, both on the ground and in the air, including during the ceasefire, to protect our soldiers in Lebanon from any threat.”
He also stated that the army has been ordered to demolish any structure or road with traps that endanger Israeli soldiers.
The goal is to “remove homes in villages near the border that have served in every way as Hezbollah terrorist outposts and threatened Israeli communities,” Katz added.
According to the IDF, an Israeli soldier was killed on Friday, the day the 10-day truce took effect, when he entered a booby trap building.
Minister Katz had repeatedly stated that Israel would demolish homes in Lebanese border areas as part of efforts to create a security space in southern Lebanon.
On Saturday, Israeli forces carried out demolitions in the town of Bint Jbeil, the scene of heavy fighting with Hezbollah before the recently agreed truce.
Israel Katz reiterated that the objective of the campaign in Lebanon “is to disarm Hezbollah and remove threats to communities in the north (in northern Israel, nr) through a combination of military and diplomatic measures.”
Trump, on the Israeli bombings in Lebanon: “Enough is enough”
The US president said on Friday that the United States had banned Israel from bombing Lebanon, in what Reuters described as an unusually harsh tone for Washington's longtime ally.
“Israel will no longer bomb Lebanon. They are prohibited by the US from doing so. Enough is enough!” Trump wrote in a social media post.
In the series of posts, he also stated that any possible agreement between the US and Iran does not also refer to Lebanon, but that Washington will adequately address the issue of Hezbollah.
“The deal is in no way related to Lebanon, but we will make Lebanon great again,” the US president added.
