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Katz did not clarify when the decision was made to expand the business and did not offer any details about what the expansion entails.
Israel launched what it described as a “limited ground operation” early last month to drive Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon.
“We have expanded ground maneuvers in southern Lebanon and are operating against Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood and wherever necessary,” Katz told soldiers on Wednesday during his first visit to Israel’s northern command.
There were nearly 20 Israeli airstrikes on what the Israeli military described as Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The newly appointed defense minister asserted that Israel will not agree to “any truce”.
“We will not take our foot off the pedal,” Katz said, adding that Israel will not “agree to any deal that does not ensure the disarmament of Hezbollah and its withdrawal across the Litani River — and especially Israel’s right to coerce … and act against any terrorist activity and organization .”
The Litani River is about 20 km from the northern border of Israel.
Despite Israel’s ground operation in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah maintains a daily rocket barrage on parts of northern Israel and continues to fire drones at Israeli cities.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Hezbollah fired about 50 missiles from Lebanon at Israel on Wednesday.
Hezbollah said on Wednesday it had carried out at least 20 strikes against Israel and its troops in Lebanon with drones, missiles and rockets, saying its actions were “in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip… and the defense of Lebanon and its people.” “
Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem praised the militant group’s fighters for their support in a handwritten letter posted online on Wednesday.
The letter comes after members of the group expressed support for his leadership over the weekend. Qassem was named the new leader of the group in late October, a month after his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli attack.
Rising civilian casualties
Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon continues to cause heavy civilian casualties. At least 20 children have been killed in air strikes on several cities across Lebanon since Sunday, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
At least eight children were killed in the town of Joun in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, the ministry said. In a separate attack on Tuesday, two children were killed in Baalchmay, southeast of Beirut.
On Wednesday, three children were killed in an Israeli attack on the village of Dawhet Aramoun, south of Beirut. On Sunday, seven children were killed in an Israeli attack on the village of Aalmat, north of Beirut.
The Israeli military told CNN on Thursday that it has been “acting in defense of Israel’s northern border, striking military targets to counter the ongoing threat Hezbollah poses to Israeli homes and families,” since the escalation of cross-border hostilities on October 8, 2023.
“Hezbollah continued to escalate its attacks on Israel, firing more than 16,000 rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel, killing civilians and driving tens of thousands from their homes,” the IDF said, adding that it was making “great efforts to assess and consider potential civilian collateral damage.” .”
The number of children killed in Lebanon in the past 50 days now accounts for 80 percent of all children killed in the past year, UNICEF spokesman James Elder said in a post on X on Wednesday.
“Children in Lebanon are going through the deadliest phase of this war,” he added.
As of Tuesday, at least 2,683 people have been killed and 12,144 injured in Lebanon since mid-September as Israel stepped up its campaign against Hezbollah, according to CNN health ministry records. The Ministry of Health’s figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Katz’s announcement of the expansion of the Israeli ground operation also comes after the army confirmed the death of six Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. It is one of the deadliest days for Israeli troops in Lebanon since the ground invasion began on October 1.
The deadliest day so far was October 2, when eight soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon.
All those killed on Wednesday were from the Golani Brigade – considered an elite infantry unit – and included a platoon commander, a platoon commander, a platoon sergeant and three soldiers, the IDF said.
At least 41 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon since the Israeli ground invasion began on October 1, according to CNN’s IDF figures. At least 792 Israeli soldiers have been killed, including 373 killed inside the Gaza Strip, since Hamas’ deadly attacks on the country on October 7, 2023, according to the IDF.
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