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Hezbollah 'playing with fire': Israel warns Lebanon of tougher response, calls for disarmament
Israel called on Lebanon to back the disarmament agreement and remove it from the southern parts of the country.
Amid rising tensions between Israel and Lebanon, Israel on Sunday accused Hezbollah of ‘playing with fire’ as it called on Lebanon to back the disarmament agreement and remove it from the southern parts of the country. “Enforcement of the maximum will continue and even intensify - we will not allow a threat to the residents of the north,” Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said as he issued a stern warning to Lebanon.
He threatened Lebanon with a heightened military action against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, a day after the Lebanese health ministry reported four people killed in an Israeli strike.
4 killed in Israeli air strike
Four people were reportedly killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Saturday, the Lebanese health ministry said, as Israel's ramped-up attacks raise fears for a nearly year-long truce with Hezbollah, AFP reported.
While Israel and Lebanon militant group signed a ceasefire agreement in November 2024, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has kept up regular air strikes claiming to target Hezbollah.
According to the health ministry, "the Israeli airstrike" in the Nabatiyeh district "killed four persons and wounded three in a preliminary toll".
The official Lebanese National News Agency reported that the Israeli army hit a car "with a guided missile" at around 10:30 pm (2030 GMT).
US slams Lebanon
The Israel statement comes after US Special Envoy for Middle East Thomas Barrack said the US would not intervene in regional disputes but would support its ally if Israel stepped up aggression toward Lebanon.
Barrack hit out at Lebanon for “not jumping in line” with the new Middle East realignments.
"The state is Hezbollah,” he was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
“It is really up to the Lebanese. America is not going to get deeper involved in the situation with a foreign terrorist organisation and a failed state dictating the pace and asking for more resources and more money and more help,” he further said.
(With inputs from agencies)
