Israeli defense minister: there will be ‘no ceasefire’ and ‘no respite’ in Lebanon
Israel’s newly appointed defense minister Israel Katz has said there will be “no ceasefire” and “no respite” in Lebanon, which has seen a series of Israeli airstrikes and ground incursions in recent weeks. Over 3,000 people have been killed.
Posting to social media Israel Katz said:
The warning and powerful activity carried out by the IDF and the security agencies against Hezbollah and the elimination of [Hassan] Nasrallah are a picture of victory and the offensive activity should be continued, in order to worsen Hezbollah’s capabilities and realise the fruits of victory.
In Lebanon there will be no ceasefire and there will be no respite. We will continue to hit Hezbollah with full force until the goals of the war are achieved. Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee Israel’s right to enforce and prevent terrorism on its own, and meeting the goals of the war in Lebanon, [which are] disarming Hezbollah and them withdrawing beyond the Litani River, and returning the residents of the north safely to their homes.
Katz was appointed into the defense minister role last week after Benjamin Netanyahu fired Yoav Gallant, citing disagreements over strategy. In May 2024 the international criminal court requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza. Israel has challenged the decision.
About 1.2 million people are believed to have been forced to flee their homes in Lebanon by Israel’s military campaign, and tens of thousands of Israelis have also been forced from their homes in northern Israel by continuous rocket fire from Hezbollah and other anti-Israeli forces inside Lebanon.
Katz statement contradicts the words on Monday of Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar, who had claimed in public “certain progress” was being made on ceasefire talks, although a spokesperson for Hezbollah had said they were not involved with them.
Key events
At least 14 killed in Gaza by Israeli strikes, many in one of the IDF’s ‘humanitarian’ zones
Palestinian medical officials say two Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 14 people, including two children and a woman. Associated Press reports that most of the victims of one of the strikes were in an Israeli-declared “humanitarian zone”.
AP reports that one strike late Monday hit a makeshift cafeteria used by displaced people in Muwasi, the centre of the Israeli declared “humanitarian zone”. At least 11 people were killed, including two children, according to officials at Nasser hospital, where the casualties were taken. Video from the scene showed men pulling bloodied wounded from among tables and chairs set up in the sand in an enclosure made of corrugated metal sheets.
The strike came hours after the Israeli military announced an expansion of the “humanitarian zone”, where it has told Palestinians evacuating from other parts of Gaza to take refuge.
Overnight Israel has announced the deaths of four soldiers in combat in the northern Gaza Strip.
The IDF says that “since the beginning of ground operations in the Gaza Strip on 27 October 2023, 373 soldiers have fallen in combat.”
It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesperson has again issued orders that people in specific locations in southern Beirut should flee their homes due to impending Israeli airstrikes, claiming that Israel will target what it deems “Hezbollah facilities and interests”.
#عاجل 3/3 إلى جميع السكان المتواجدين في منطقة الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا في المباني المحددة في الخرائط المرفقة والمباني المجاورة لها في منطقة حدث بيروت
⭕️أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع بقوة على المدى الزمني القريب
⭕️من أجل… pic.twitter.com/IPHoe85Oms
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 12, 2024
Israeli defense minister: there will be ‘no ceasefire’ and ‘no respite’ in Lebanon
Israel’s newly appointed defense minister Israel Katz has said there will be “no ceasefire” and “no respite” in Lebanon, which has seen a series of Israeli airstrikes and ground incursions in recent weeks. Over 3,000 people have been killed.
Posting to social media Israel Katz said:
The warning and powerful activity carried out by the IDF and the security agencies against Hezbollah and the elimination of [Hassan] Nasrallah are a picture of victory and the offensive activity should be continued, in order to worsen Hezbollah’s capabilities and realise the fruits of victory.
In Lebanon there will be no ceasefire and there will be no respite. We will continue to hit Hezbollah with full force until the goals of the war are achieved. Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee Israel’s right to enforce and prevent terrorism on its own, and meeting the goals of the war in Lebanon, [which are] disarming Hezbollah and them withdrawing beyond the Litani River, and returning the residents of the north safely to their homes.
Katz was appointed into the defense minister role last week after Benjamin Netanyahu fired Yoav Gallant, citing disagreements over strategy. In May 2024 the international criminal court requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza. Israel has challenged the decision.
About 1.2 million people are believed to have been forced to flee their homes in Lebanon by Israel’s military campaign, and tens of thousands of Israelis have also been forced from their homes in northern Israel by continuous rocket fire from Hezbollah and other anti-Israeli forces inside Lebanon.
Katz statement contradicts the words on Monday of Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar, who had claimed in public “certain progress” was being made on ceasefire talks, although a spokesperson for Hezbollah had said they were not involved with them.
Good morning and welcome to our blog covering the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
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Israel’s recently appointed defence minister, Israel Katz, has dismissed talk of a ceasefire in Lebanon, saying “there will be no ceasefire and there will be no respite”
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Israel’s newly appointed foreign minister, Gideon Saar, who replaced Katz in the role, had said on Monday that “certain progress” had been made on ceasefire talks in Lebanon. However a spokesperson for Hezbollah said they had not been involved in any direct talks
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Speaking at the joint Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Riyadh yesterday, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, said that his country was suffering an “unprecedented” crisis that threatens its existence
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Iran’s first vice president Mohammad Reza Aref told the summit on Monday that the “world is waiting” for Donald Trump’s incoming US government to stop Israel’s wars with Hamas and Hezbollah
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Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 3,243 people and injured 14,134 since 7 October 2023, the Lebanese health ministry said. The death toll in Gaza in the same period has been put at over 40,000
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Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued more forced evacuation orders for residents of many towns/villages in southern Lebanon
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The amount of aid reaching Gaza has dropped to the lowest level since December, official Israeli figures show, despite the US having issued a 30-day ultimatum last month threatening sanctions if there was no increase in humanitarian supplies reaching the territory
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Overnight Israel announced the deaths of four soldiers in combat in the northern Gaza Strip
