Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night said he had ordered the Israeli military to step up its attacks on Hizbollah, after far-right members of the prime minister’s cabinet demanded a full-scale resumption of Israel’s offensive in Lebanon.
A brittle ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group has nominally been in place since last month. But, in practice, the two sides have continued to trade fire, with Israel frequently striking southern Lebanon and Hizbollah firing rockets and drones at Israeli targets.
After the latest rounds of drone fire on Monday, and amid concern in Israel that a possible peace deal between Iran and the US could also rein in Israel’s campaign against Hizbollah, Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded a return to “high-intensity warfare” in Lebanon.