National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Friday that 'all of Lebanon should burn' in response to a deadly overnight incident on the northern border. 'For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers should weep,' he said, according to the minister's statement published on Telegram.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir escalated his rhetoric Friday morning, calling for a scorched-earth response against Lebanon after a deadly overnight incident on the northern border. In a statement published on Telegram, Ben Gvir said: 'All of Lebanon should burn. For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers should weep. Our supreme duty is to protect Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers, and this commitment takes precedence over any other consideration.'
This is the minister's third public statement on the subject in as many hours. At 09:56 Friday, The Zioneer first reported Ben Gvir's initial call for a scorched-earth policy, citing a statement on his channel. A second version at 09:56 added his remark comparing Israeli and Lebanese mothers. By 10:45, The Zioneer reported that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had joined Ben Gvir in calling for a harsh military response, with the earlier versions having attributed the remarks solely to Ben Gvir. The overnight incident that prompted the statements—reported by i24NEWS as the killing of Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon and three soldiers in southern Lebanon, and the wounding of a reserve officer and four NCOs in a separate Hezbollah drone attack—has not been officially detailed by the IDF as of 11:28 Jerusalem.
Ben Gvir's remarks come amid a broader hardening of Israeli positions on the northern front, as The Zioneer reported on Sun Jun 14—when a senior cabinet minister told Channel 12 that Lebanon is Israel's red line, even at the cost of confrontation with the U.S.—and on Mon Jun 15, when a senior Israeli figure demanded the prime minister clarify that the Yellow Line in southern Lebanon is a non-negotiable red line. These statements have unfolded alongside diplomatic talks over Lebanon and parallel U.S.-Iran negotiations, with Iran demanding guarantees for Lebanon's security and territorial integrity.
What remains open: The IDF has not officially detailed the overnight incident. No confirmation has been received of any operational change or military order following the ministers' statements. The precise timing and circumstances of the separate incidents reported by i24NEWS remain unverified by official sources.
4 developments
- StrongBen Gvir: Israel must not accept US-Iran ceasefire
- DevelopingBen Gvir demands harsh response to drone incursions in security cabinet meeting
- DevelopingEU chief von der Leyen: No peace in the Middle East while Lebanon is in flames
- DevelopingAnonymous channel asserts Israel must 'immediately' cease fire in Lebanon
Source and signal
- Internal intake