ALBAWABA- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas remains active in parts of Khan Younis and Rafah and that Israeli forces are working to eliminate its cells there.
He described the Houthis as a “very great threat” to Israel and vowed to take all necessary measures to neutralize that risk.
He added Israel will not allow the Lebanon front to again become a source of threat and will act to prevent that.
Netanyahu reaffirmed that Israel’s goals include dismantling Hamas’s leadership and securing the release of remaining hostages. “There will be no pause until Israel’s security is guaranteed,” he said, dismissing calls for restraint as premature.
The remarks came as Israeli forces expanded operations beyond Gaza, launching fresh strikes in southern Lebanon over the weekend that risk unraveling the fragile U.S.- and French-brokered ceasefire reached in November 2024.
According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, three civilians were killed and four wounded Saturday in an Israeli raid in Nabatieh targeting what the IDF described as Hezbollah weapon depots.
Earlier airstrikes on border villages killed four others, two militants and two civilians, and injured at least three. Beirut condemned the attacks as a “flagrant breach” of the truce.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that operations could widen to include “preemptive measures” against Hezbollah strongholds and Iranian-backed Houthi positions in Yemen. “We will not hesitate to expand our campaign to protect Israel’s northern and maritime borders,” Katz said at an IDF briefing in Tel Aviv.
The flare-up marks the most serious challenge yet to the 11-month ceasefire, which ended a year of cross-border exchanges that displaced more than 150,000 people on both sides. UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged restraint, warning that “continued violations risk igniting a regional inferno.” Hezbollah, while not yet retaliating, accused Israel of using the truce as “cover for aggression.”
