In a defiant stance, Israel has rejected international efforts to broker a ceasefire in Lebanon and has pledged to escalate its military operation against Hezbollah. This decision comes just hours after Israel’s military chief, Herzi Halevi, instructed soldiers to prepare for a potential ground offensive against the militant group.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz, in a social media post, declared, “There will be no ceasefire in the north. We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes.”
Echoing this sentiment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement asserting that he had “not even responded” to the ceasefire proposal and instead directed the military “to continue the fighting with full force.”
The Israeli military has vowed a forceful response to a missile attack launched by Hezbollah on central Israel earlier on Thursday morning. “You can hear the planes above, we are attacking all day. Both to prepare the area for the possibility of your entry [into Lebanon], and also to continue causing blows to Hezbollah. Hezbollah today expanded its [range] of fire. Later today, it will receive a very strong response. Today we will continue, we do not stop, we continue to attack and continue to strike them everywhere. The goal is a very clear goal, to return the [displaced] residents of the north safely. To do this, we are preparing the [ground] maneuver,” stated IDF chief Halevi.
In a related development, Israeli fighter jets targeted infrastructure along the Lebanese-Syrian border in an effort to disrupt the flow of weapons to Hezbollah. “Hezbollah uses these means of warfare against the citizens of the State of Israel. The IDF will continue to strike and act against the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s attempts to arm itself and transfer weapons into Lebanon from Syrian territory,” an official statement read.
The escalating conflict raises significant concerns about the humanitarian situation in Lebanon and the potential for further regional instability.
