TEL AVIV — Two Israeli ministers on Monday demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renew military operations in Lebanon in response to Hezbollah explosive drone attacks, ahead of a potential Iran-US deal which could curb Israeli action against the militant group. Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, called for a return to “intensive” fighting in Lebanon, despite a ceasefire aimed at halting hostilities between Israeli forces and Hizbollah. “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,” Ben Gvir said on X. “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, also from the far right, 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 Telegram. “For every explosive drone, 10 buildings must fall in Beirut.” Smotrich said he had approved a special budget of approximately two billion Israeli shekels ($692 million) to enable the defense establishment to develop countermeasures against the drones. The remarks by the two ministers — both members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition — came after the military reported the death of another soldier in southern Lebanon. A total of 24 Israelis have been killed since hostilities began: 23 soldiers and one civilian. The latest escalation between Israel and Hezbollah followed the Lebanese group’s entry into the broader regional conflict on March 2, when it launched rockets into Israel after the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in joint US-Israeli strikes. Israel responded with retaliatory attacks before launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon. Troops are currently operating inside an Israeli-announced “yellow line” running around 10 kilometers (six miles) deep along Lebanon’s southern border. Israel’s military has also been conducting heavy strikes well beyond that area despite a ceasefire supposed to be in force since April 17. Lebanon’s health ministry has put the overall toll in the war since March 2 at 3,123 killed. Israel’s main opposition leader, Yair Lapid, said the ceasefire was a “farce.” “It is unacceptable that Israeli soldiers and civilians in the north continue to come under fire when Israel’s ability to respond is restricted,” he told journalists on Monday. “Either there is a ceasefire or we respond with disproportionate force to every attack against us.” Lebanon and Israel began landmark US-brokered talks last month and are preparing for a fourth round in early June. But Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has opposed the talks and also refused to disarm his group, as it keeps up attacks on Israeli targets in southern Lebanon and across the border.
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