Israel’s Katz warns of more Lebanon strikes if Hezbollah not disarmed

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on June 6 that Israel will keep striking Lebanon until it disarms Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, a day after Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, Report informs referring to Al Arabiya.

“There will be no calm in Beirut, and no order or stability in Lebanon, without security for the State of Israel. Agreements must be honored, and if you do not do what is required, we will continue to act, and with great force,” Katz said in a statement.

Katz said he was responding directly to condemnation by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun of Thursday evening strikes on south Beirut.

Aoun called the strikes a “flagrant violation” of the November ceasefire, carried out “on the eve of a sacred religious festival” -- the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.

Aoun said the strikes were “irrefutable proof of the aggressor’s refusal... of a just peace in our region.”

Following warnings on social media, the Israeli military struck a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which it said Hezbollah was using to produce drones.

Before the ceasefire, Israel and Hezbollah engaged in more than a year of hostilities that culminated in two months of full-fledged war.

The November 27 agreement required Hezbollah fighters to withdraw north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle all military infrastructure to its south.

It required Israel to withdraw all of its troops from Lebanon, but it has kept them in five positions it deems “strategic.”

It has also continued to carry out strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, both south and north of the Litani.