Extremist Israeli ministers call for ‘burning’ Lebanon, opening ‘gates of hell’ after soldiers killed

Israel’s far-right cabinet members, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, on Friday called for intensified attacks in Lebanon after the Israeli army said four soldiers were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, Anadolu reports.

In a post on the US social media company X, Ben-Gvir said Israel should respond forcefully despite international pressure.

“With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not forfeit. All of Lebanon must burn,” the extremist minister wrote.

“Our supreme duty is to protect the citizens of Israel and the soldiers of the IDF (army), and this commitment takes precedence over every other consideration,” he added.

Ben-Gvir noted he had conveyed his position directly to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I told the Prime Minister, even in our private meetings: For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep.”

READ: 4 Israeli soldiers killed in Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon

Calling for a harsher attack, he added that in the Middle East it was necessary to “go berserk. To obliterate. To crush the terror.”

Another extremist minister Smotrich wrote on X, “A tough morning… Time to speak with fire. To open the gates of hell.”

The remarks came after the Israeli military announced that four soldiers had been killed during clashes in southern Lebanon, amid continuing tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Despite a US-Iran deal that was reported to include provisions aimed at ending hostilities in Lebanon, Israeli strikes continued after midnight.

Earlier on Friday, at least 24 people were killed and several others injured in a series of Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s official news agency (NNA).

The agency said the attacks hit inhabited homes in Al-Sharqiyah, Harouf, and Kfar Sir in the Nabatieh district, also leaving several people unaccounted for.

According to the latest official figures, Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon, which began on March 2, has killed 3,912 people, injured 11,873 others, and displaced more than one million residents.

During the recent military campaign, Israeli forces advanced more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanese territory.