A day after a series of Israeli airstrikes against "Hezbollah" positions in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the army will continue its operations if the Shiite movement is not disarmed. This was reported by the Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
„There will be no peace in Beirut, nor stability in Lebanon, if there is no security for the state of Israel. The agreements must be respected. "If you do not take the right action, we will continue to act with great force," Katz stressed in an official statement.
His comment came in response to a statement by Lebanese Prime Minister Joseph Aoun, who condemned the latest Israeli strikes and called them a "clear violation" of the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on November 27.
The Israeli minister insisted that the Lebanese army ensure the implementation of the ceasefire, which provides for the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces and the dismantling of its military infrastructure south of the Litani River - about 30 km from the Israeli border.
The current strike is the fourth in a row on the southern areas of Beirut - considered a stronghold of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement - since the ceasefire was concluded. It ended more than a year of hostilities, which in recent months had escalated into an open two-month war between Israeli forces and the Lebanese group.