Katz: "If there is no peace in the north, there will be no peace in Beirut" • Netanyahu: "Hezbollah's terror headquarters in Dahiyah will not remain off-limits"
Israel's military operation in southern Lebanon is intensifying on multiple fronts. IDF forces have crossed the Litani River, captured Beaufort Ridge for the first time in 44 years, and issued a mass evacuation warning for all residents south of the Zahrani River. Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed the Beaufort capture Sunday night, saying 700 Hezbollah terrorists had been eliminated in the past month alone, more than during the entire Second Lebanon War, and instructed the IDF to deepen and expand its grip on former Hezbollah-controlled territory.
On the ground, Hezbollah fire toward northern Israel is escalating. A rocket struck Tiberias overnight for the first time since the ceasefire began, landing in an open area with no injuries. Israel is now expanding its military operation, as US officials have also concluded that current restrictions on IDF activity can no longer be sustained given the scale of Hezbollah's attacks.
On the diplomatic side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday, proposing a clear sequence: Hezbollah stops all attacks, Israel refrains from escalating toward Beirut, and space is created for a gradual ceasefire.
Aoun attempted to advance the proposal, but Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's response was described by a US official as "evasive and disappointing," with Berri claiming to guarantee Hezbollah's commitment while placing the burden on Israel to stop first. The US official signaled support for IDF escalation in Lebanon, saying, "The United States does not expect Israel to absorb ongoing attacks on its civilians by a terrorist organization."
On the Iran front, Tehran has not accepted Trump's proposed amendments to the MoU, with Tasnim news agency reporting that Iran intends to apply its own revisions to the draft text in upcoming talks with Washington.
Iranian FM calls Israel’s actions against Lebanon a ‘violation of the ceasefire on all fronts’; threatens US and Israel with ‘consequences’
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserted on Monday that the ceasefire brokered by the United States applied "unequivocally" to all fronts, including Lebanon. This statement came after airstrikes ordered by Benjamin Netanyahu against Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs. "Any violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts. The United States and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation," Araghchi wrote on X.
PM Netanyahu: "Hezbollah's terror headquarters in Dahiyah will not remain off-limits"
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Monday that Israel would not allow Hezbollah to attack Israeli cities while its command centers in Beirut's Dahiyeh district remained untouched.
"Together with the Defense Minister, I instructed the IDF to strike terrorist targets in Beirut," he said. "Hezbollah is in flight. We are determined to restore security to the residents of the north, just as we did for the residents of the south."
Netanyahu added that IDF operations in southern Lebanon were deepening, with Hezbollah strongholds being dismantled across the area.
Defense Minister Israel Katz declared Monday that Israel would not tolerate a situation in which Hezbollah attacks northern Israeli communities while Beirut remains unaffected.
Speaking at a military ceremony, Katz confirmed that he and Prime Minister Netanyahu had ordered IDF strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut's Dahiyeh district in response to ongoing ceasefire violations and vowed the policy would continue.
"The law of Dahiyeh in Beirut is the same as the law of the northern communities in Israel," he said.
Katz added that IDF ground and fire operations in Lebanon were yielding significant results, crushing Hezbollah's capabilities on the ground, and that Israel's goal was to transform the Litani region into an area under IDF security control, free of weapons and terrorists.
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