Following Channel 14’s earlier report: The IDF confirmed Tuesday that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered a dramatic expansion of fighting in Lebanon, with operations now underway north of the Yellow Line—a region dense with Hezbollah terror infrastructure. Yet despite the massive escalation, an Israeli official estimates that the emerging US-Iran agreement will include Lebanon.
This evening (Tuesday) we’re revealing the political-security drama behind the decision: Monday at 11:30 a.m., the defense minister and prime minister spoke on the red phone, with Katz pulling Netanyahu directly out of his ongoing trial hearing.
Despite hesitation from some senior political officials, the prime minister fully backed the defense minister. The two made a decisive call, and after difficult days, ordered the IDF to launch the powerful offensive within hours. At the same time, they greenlit targeted assassinations across all of Lebanon.
We’re also revealing tonight the scale of destruction in southern Lebanon’s first line of villages: Operation “Silver Plowshare” continues with determination—roughly 70% of homes in the first village line have already been completely destroyed. That’s about 10,000 terror structures out of approximately 15,000 total.