Israel's far-right ministers call for escalation in Lebanon

Israel’s two far-right ministers on Monday called for an escalation of military operations in Lebanon, with one advocating strikes on Beirut in response to Hezbollah’s drone attacks.

“It is time for the prime minister to take a firm stand with Donald Trump and tell him that Israel is returning to war in Lebanon,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on social media. Ben Gvir leads the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) Party.

“Electricity to Lebanon must be cut off, the Zahrani must be seized, and intensive warfare resumed,” he said, referring to a river in southern Lebanon which runs further north than current Israeli ground operations.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, from the Religious Zionist Party, called for strikes on Beirut to counter Hezbollah’s drone attacks on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and across the border.

“There is an urgent need to put an end to the threat posed by Hezbollah’s explosive drones,” Smotrich said on social media.

“For every explosive drone, 10 buildings must fall in Beirut.”