Israel vows to continue attacks on Lebanon until Hezbollah disarms

Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, issued a stark warning on Friday, June 6, 2025, declaring that Israel would continue bombing Lebanon unless Hezbollah is disarmed.

In a statement, Katz said that “there will be no calm in Beirut” and “no order or stability in Lebanon” unless Israeli security is guaranteed.

He stressed that “agreements must be honoured” and warned that if Hezbollah fails to comply, “we will continue to act, and with great force.”

His remarks came a day after the Israeli military launched a powerful aerial assault on the southern suburbs of Beirut, an area known to be a Hezbollah stronghold.

The strikes occurred late Thursday night, forcing large numbers of residents to flee their homes just hours before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The evacuation order reportedly gave residents only one hour to leave.

Israel claimed the targets of the latest operation were “drone factories” operated by Hezbollah, though it did not provide evidence to support this allegation.

According to the Israeli military, Hezbollah has been working to expand its drone production capabilities in preparation for a potential future war.

Israel claims that the actions violate the terms of a ceasefire agreement established in November.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli fighter jets carried out roughly a dozen airstrikes during the operation.

Hezbollah later issued a statement denying that any drone manufacturing facilities existed at the targeted locations.

The group said an initial damage assessment showed nine buildings were completely destroyed, while many others sustained significant damage.

This most recent attack marks the fourth and most intense Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs since the November 27 ceasefire.

Israel had previously conducted a similar strike in late April, claiming to have targeted infrastructure used by Hezbollah to store precision-guided missiles.

Lebanon’s President, Joseph Aoun, along with Arab nations and international human rights organizations, has accused Israel of routinely breaching the terms of the ceasefire over the past seven months.

Aoun has appealed to the United States and France, the two primary guarantors of the agreement, to intervene and help curb Israel’s military actions.

In a speech given Thursday night, Aoun condemned the Israeli airstrikes.

He described them as a “flagrant violation of an international accord” and particularly egregious given their timing just before a major religious holiday.

He called the attacks a clear breach of international norms and warned that continued aggression could destabilize the region further.

On Friday, Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar urged all Lebanese political factions to turn their words of condemnation into tangible actions, particularly through diplomatic channels.

He called for a unified response to Israeli aggression, emphasizing the need for more than just verbal opposition.

According to Lebanese government figures released in April, Israeli attacks in Lebanon since the ceasefire have resulted in the deaths of at least 190 people and injuries to nearly 500 more.

The original terms of the November ceasefire tasked the Lebanese army with disarming Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is a powerful political and paramilitary group that has long been considered more heavily armed than the Lebanese state itself.

Following Thursday’s attack, the Lebanese military issued a statement criticizing Israel’s actions.

The army reported that it had proposed inspecting the alleged drone sites in southern Beirut to avoid escalation, but that Israel rejected this offer.

The military warned that repeated attacks undermine its authority.

They also say the attacks could force it to withdraw cooperation with the international monitoring committee responsible for overseeing the ceasefire agreement.

The statement indicated that continued Israeli non-compliance may lead the Lebanese army to halt its inspections and disarmament activities near the Israeli border.

These actions were supposedly intended to reduce Hezbollah’s military presence in southern Lebanon.

The broader conflict between Israel and Hezbollah reignited following Israel’s offensive in Gaza in October 2023.

In solidarity with Hamas, Hezbollah launched cross-border attacks into northern Israel.

The ensuing Israeli response devastated parts of Lebanon, killing more than 4,000 people, including hundreds of civilians, before the ceasefire was eventually reached.

Hezbollah’s retaliatory rocket fire reportedly killed 87 Israeli soldiers and 46 civilians.

As both rhetoric and violence escalate, the fragile ceasefire hangs in the balance, with regional stability at increasing risk.

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