Threatening To Continue War With Hezbollah Despite Ceasefire In Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister: My Instructions Are Clear

JAKARTA - Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the Israeli army would not stop fighting Hezbollah even though a ceasefire was reached with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, saying a separate agreement with the Lebanese militant group was necessary.

His threats came after Hezbollah on Sunday said it had launched its biggest air operations so far, attacking Israel's surveillance center on Mount Hermon in the annexed Golan Heights.

"My instructions to troops in the north and south are clear: even if we reach settlements in the south, we will continue to fight in the north until we take Hezbollah to settlements and restore the security of the population," Defense Minister Gallant said in a video on Sunday during a visit to the Mount Hermon area. July 8th.

"Things can happen. We don't want them. We are ready for anything, but we are ready to face the reality if they come to attack us, or if they try to hurt us, or if they don't allow us to safely repatriate our citizens to their homes, we will act."

Hezbollah opened a pressure front on the Lebanese-Israeli border on October 8, to support its Hamas allies, in order to shift Israel's military focus from the Gaza Strip. Since then, Hezbollah and Israel have been shooting each other every day.

The increase in escalation on Lebanese-Israeli fronts in recent weeks has caused fears of an all-out war.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said his group would stop its attacks on Israel only if Israel stopped bombing the Gaza Strip.

Israel itself has repeatedly threatened to wage a massive war if Hezbollah does not withdraw from border areas and allows Israelis to return there safely.

Hamas' softening stance regarding the proposed ceasefire in Gaza has revived hopes that the resolution of the Israel-Lebanon border conflict could also be achieved.

However, the war rhetoric between Hezbollah and Israel continues. In a statement on Sunday they said their fighters sent "several squadrons of unmanned aircraft in succession to target reconnaissance centers" on Mount Hermon.

Israeli forces said an explosive unmanned plane "goed in an open area in the Mount Hermon area" but no one was injured.

The attack came after a member of the group was killed on Saturday in an attack in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon, 100 km north of the border with Israel.

Israel's attack killed "a key member in Hezbollah's air defense unit," the military claimed. Hezbollah called Maytham Al Attar the official who died on Saturday

On Monday, the militant group announced the death of one of its fighters after the Israeli military said it had launched several air and artillery strikes overnight in Lebanon.

Nearly 400 people have died in Lebanon since October 8, about 90 of them civilians, while 18 soldiers and 10 civilians have died in Israel.

The Israeli military said it had approved operational plans for an attack in Lebanon. The Hezbollah group last fought with Israel in 2006. Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, after a war that coincided with the formation of Hezbollah.