National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is under harsh criticism after saying that 'for every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep. All of Lebanon must burn!' The remarks, published on Telegram, echo his earlier statements Friday following a deadly overnight incident on the northern border, according to Israeli media.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir faced a wave of harsh criticism Friday evening after a statement published on his the source escalated his earlier rhetoric. At roughly 18:30 Jerusalem time, he wrote: “For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep. All of Lebanon must burn!” — amplifying the call he first made at 09:56 Jerusalem, when he urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to abandon “measured responses” and “go crazy, wipe out, defeat terror” following a deadly overnight incident on the northern border.
The thread began at 09:56 Jerusalem with Ben Gvir's initial demand that “Lebanon as a whole must burn” and his call for a scorched-earth policy, first reported by i24NEWS. By the same timestamp, The Zioneer had reported that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich joined in calling for a severe military response. Over the next hour and a half, the story was updated five times as Ben Gvir reiterated the same core statement. The Zioneer’s own bulletin at 11:28 Jerusalem confirmed the remarks, citing the minister’s Telegram statement. Criticism mounted through the day, with domestic opponents and international observers accusing him of advocating disproportionate violence.
Ben Gvir has a consistent record of urging harsh military responses, as The Zioneer reported on Sunday June 14 and Monday June 15: he demanded aggressive deterrence against drone incursions, warned Israel against accepting a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, and repeatedly invoked a Dahiya-style doctrine. The context of Friday’s remarks also includes the earlier deaths of Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon and three soldiers in southern Lebanon, and a separate Hezbollah drone attack that wounded a reserve officer and four NCOs.
It remains unclear whether Prime Minister Netanyahu or the defense establishment have responded directly to Ben Gvir's latest call. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attacked Ben Gvir earlier Friday, labeling the Israeli government a “death cult,” though that statement was not tied to the timing of Ben Gvir’s Friday evening remarks.
5 developments
- StrongBen Gvir: Israel must not accept US-Iran ceasefire
- DevelopingBen Gvir demands harsh response to drone incursions in security cabinet meeting
- StrongBen Gvir urges PM to 'be strong and courageous' after security incident
- DevelopingEU chief von der Leyen: No peace in the Middle East while Lebanon is in flames
Source and signal
- Internal intake