Government ministers sharply criticized Hezbollah’s ceasefire violations at Tuesday night’s cabinet meeting on Lebanon and demanded a change in Israel’s response strategy. Proposals raised during the discussion included: direct strikes on Lebanese government infrastructure, seizing territory, and a large-scale operation to displace the population and level the Dahieh district in Beirut.
Many ministers called for taking a harder, more aggressive line against Hezbollah following the terror group’s continued attacks despite the ceasefire agreement.
Energy Minister Eli Cohen attacked Israel’s restraint: “It’s strange that we need to be cautious when they’re hitting us during a ceasefire—they’re violating it and we need to be cautious? We have the right to act!” Later in the discussion, Cohen added that in his view there’s no choice but to expand the targets: “There’s no escape but to strike the Lebanese government too so they pay a price. They’re a country and they’re responsible and we need to hit their infrastructure.”
Transportation Minister Miri Regev raised the question of the neighboring state’s responsibility and wondered: “What is Lebanon doing against Hezbollah?” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dismissed her question: “They’re not doing anything! They have two Hezbollah ministers—it’s the mother of all revolving doors.”
The ministers then began discussing ways to create effective deterrence against Lebanon. Settlement and National Missions Minister Orit Strock noted that “we need to look for what hurts them.” Defense Minister Israel Katz laid out his position, saying that “what hurts them is taking their territory.”
Ben-Gvir demanded replicating the Gaza Strip operational model in Lebanon’s capital: “What will hurt them is if we level Dahieh! We’ll do there what we did in Rafah—displace the population. I understand some won’t like this, but the red line is harm to our soldiers and civilians.” Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter said that “we need to see if the moves the IDF is proposing are sufficient.”