Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that following a 'heinous Hezbollah attack that is a blatant ceasefire violation,' he ordered the IDF to strike the group with force. He spoke shortly after the military struck over 80 Hezbollah targets and killed dozens of operatives in an ongoing campaign.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement at 13:34 Jerusalem on Friday, explicitly labeling the Hezbollah attack that killed four soldiers, including a battalion commander, a 'heinous attack' and a 'blatant ceasefire violation.' He said he ordered the IDF to strike the group hard. The statement arrives in the midst of a massive Israeli response that began overnight and has seen the military strike over 80 Hezbollah targets and kill dozens of operatives, as The Zioneer first reported at 09:20 Jerusalem on Friday. The prime minister's characterization echoes the IDF's own accusation of a 'blatant violation' on June 14, underscoring a rapid escalation since the ceasefire began.
Earlier on Friday, beginning at 09:20 Jerusalem, a cascading series of reports detailed the Israeli response. First, the IDF reported striking over 80 Hezbollah targets and eliminating dozens of operatives in southern Lebanon. As the hour progressed, reports from The Zioneer confirmed the military struck two Hezbollah command headquarters in the Bekaa Valley and that ground forces were operating to destroy strategic underground infrastructure in the Beaufort area. The IDF's initial reports were then corroborated by Defense Minister Israel Katz, who at 09:20 Jerusalem said the military struck over 80 targets and eliminated dozens in response to the deaths of the four soldiers, and later by Prime Minister Netanyahu, who at the same time confirmed he ordered the strikes and vowed a heavy price. The current statement from Netanyahu adds the explicit label of a ceasefire violation. This cycle began on June 14, when the IDF accused Hezbollah of a 'blatant violation' and Israel struck a Hezbollah communications target in Beirut's Dahiyeh, prompting a sharp U.S. response. On June 15, Hezbollah claimed its first attack on Israeli forces since the ceasefire, using drones and anti-tank missiles, as The Zioneer reported.
As The Zioneer reported on June 14, Israel struck a Hezbollah communications target in Beirut's Dahiyeh in what Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed was a strike on 'Hezbollah terror targets,' a move that drew a sharp reaction from the U.S. President Donald Trump, who in a subsequent interview with Our Man in Jerusalem said on June 18 that 'Hezbollah must definitely disarm.' Hezbollah's role as an Iran-backed militant organization operating as a state-within-a-state has been a central factor in the conflict, as The Zioneer has documented.
The specific Hezbollah attack that triggered the prime minister's latest order was not detailed in his statement, and the full scope of the overnight IDF strikes remains subject to military censorship.
14 developments
- StrongNetanyahu, Katz define Hezbollah attacks on IDF troops in southern Lebanon as ceasefire violations, ordering massive strikes
- DevelopingColumnist calls for Israel to strike Hezbollah with maximum force
- StrongNetanyahu confirms IDF strike on Hezbollah targets in Beirut's Dahiyeh
- DevelopingNetanyahu vows response to Hezbollah rocket fire but drops Beirut strike pledge
Source and signal
- Internal intake