Israel will stay in Lebanon “as long as necessary,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, adding that his country would make Hezbollah “pay a very heavy price,” after the announcement of the death of four soldiers in operations.
The Israeli army “will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary to protect the northern localities” of Israel, declared Mr. Netanyahu in a press release. “Israel will not accept any attack against our soldiers or our territory,” he adds.
Israeli Defense Minister Katz, for his part, warned of an Israeli response “with considerable force” to any attack by Hezbollah, Iran’s ally.
These remarks come as a response to Tehran which, according to the media Axios, would have frozen the negotiations planned for this Friday in Switzerland with the United States, due to alleged Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon. For his part, the head of the Iranian negotiating team, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf insisted on the need to respect Iran’s red lines during future talks with the United States.
Four Israeli soldiers, including the commander of the 52nd battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, were killed Friday in South Lebanon, the Israeli army announced in a press release. These soldiers were killed in an attack targeting a tank, according to the Haaretzwhile fighting continues between the Israeli forces occupying South Lebanon, who want to advance in the Nabatiyé region, and Hezbollah.
