England considers "disgusting" Israeli minister's desire to burn down all of Lebanon

JAKARTA - British Foreign Secretary (Menlu) Yvette Cooper has criticized the controversial statement by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who wants to burn down the whole of Lebanon.

Cooper judged the statement of the Jewish right-wing extremist minister to be disgusting.

"Calling for 'the whole of Lebanon to burn' is a terrible and disgusting statement from an Israeli Minister who has been sanctioned by the British Government," Yvette said in her X, quoted by the Times of Israel, Saturday, June 20.

Ben-Gvir's statement ahead of the weekend was a response to the deaths of four Israeli soldiers in Lebanon.

On the one hand, as of June 7, according to Anadolu, as many as 3,550 people were killed, more than 10,800 people were injured, and 1.2 million people had been displaced, as a result of Israel's ground invasion of Lebanon starting on March 2, 2026.

"We call on Israel and Hezbollah to abide by the ceasefire that has been agreed to, and ensure that all civilians are protected," continued Yvette.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also commented on Ben-Gvir's controversial statement on his X account.

"It is not the chatter of a genocidal fanatic who is indiscriminate" but "a public post by the Israeli regime's national security minister. The genocidal fanatic group based in Tel Aviv is a threat to all of humanity. This group threatens all humans. Its only interest is eternal war," Araghchi wrote on his X account.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, shortly after Ben-Gvirm's statement, threatened that the forcibly displaced southern Lebanese would never be allowed to return to their homes.

"The 200,000 residents who live in the security zone will not return. None of them will return," Katz said.

The Israeli Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, echoed his fellow Zionist minister in calling for "opening the gates of hell" in Lebanon. This repeated his words in March 2025 regarding Gaza.

As for Ben-Gvir's statement after the death of four Israeli soldiers, the following: "For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must cry. All Lebanon must burn! With all due respect to America, Israel must explain to the whole world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens will not be sacrificed."