Israel threatens to ‘go deeper’ into Lebanon as strikes strain ceasefire

As tit-for-tat strikes strain a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah less than a week since it went into effect, Israel’s defense minister on Tuesday threatened to directly target the Lebanese state should the agreement fall apart.

As tit-for-tat strikes strain a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah less than a week since it went into effect, Israel’s defense minister on Tuesday threatened to directly target the Lebanese state should the agreement fall apart. Monday was the deadliest day since that agreement came into force last Wednesday, with Israeli strikes killing nine in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah fired at Israeli-occupied territory, citing Israeli truce violations. “If we return to war, we will act with strength, go deeper,” Israel Katz said during a visit on Tuesday to the 146th Division of the Israel Defense Forces, near the Lebanese border. Were the ceasefire to collapse, he said, “there will no longer be any exemptions for the State of Lebanon. If until now we separated the State of Lebanon from Hezbollah – and the entirety of Beirut from Dahiyeh, which took very hard hits – this will no longer be the case.” It comes a day after Israel conducted airstrikes across southern Lebanon, retaliating to Hezbollah’s firing of two rockets at Israeli-occupied territory – themselves a response to near-daily Israeli attacks on Lebanon beginning the day after the truce came into effect last Wednesday. The exchange of fire casts doubt on the longevity of the ceasefire brokered by the United States – though State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller insisted on Monday that “we have not seen the ceasefire break down.”