Benjamin Netanyahu orders Israeli military to step up attacks on Hizbollah

{"text":[[{"start":11.25,"text":"Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night said he had ordered the Israeli military to step up its attacks on Hizbollah, after far-right members of the prime minister’s cabinet demanded a full-scale resumption of Israel’s offensive in Lebanon."}],[{"start":24.85,"text":"A brittle ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group has nominally been in place since last month. But, in practice, the two sides have continued to trade fire, with Israel frequently striking southern Lebanon and Hizbollah firing rockets and drones at Israeli targets."}],[{"start":41.45,"text":"After the latest rounds of drone fire on Monday, and amid concern in Israel that a possible peace deal between Iran and the US could also rein in Israel’s campaign against Hizbollah, Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded a return to “high-intensity warfare” in Lebanon."}],[{"start":61.150000000000006,"text":"“It’s time for the prime minister to bang on [US President Donald] Trump’s desk and inform him that we’re returning to war in Lebanon,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X, adding that Israel should cut off Lebanon’s electricity supply and conquer land up to the Zahrani River, which runs much further north than the positions Israeli forces occupy in Lebanon."}],[{"start":84,"text":"Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, also called for a “significant” response to Hizbollah’s drone salvos — one of which killed an Israeli soldier in Lebanon over the weekend — demanding that “for every explosive drone, 10 buildings must fall in Beirut”. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":102.15,"text":"“You don’t counter a strategic threat with defence alone, but by changing the rules and the equation,” he wrote on X."}],[{"start":109.4,"text":"In a video statement on Monday night, Netanyahu said he had ordered the Israeli military to “intensify the blows” against Hizbollah. “We will strike them decisively,” he added. "}],[{"start":119.65,"text":"The military subsequently said it was carrying out strikes in the Bekaa Valley and elsewhere in Lebanon. It was not immediately clear how extensive the strikes were."}],[{"start":128.6,"text":"The interventions by the two far-right ministers, who wield significant power in Netanyahu’s coalition, come as Washington and Tehran continue talks on a broader deal to end the war in the Middle East, which began when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in February. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":143.29999999999998,"text":"Iran’s foreign ministry has said it is seeking a deal to end the war on “all fronts”, indicating Tehran wants any agreement to include the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah."}],[{"start":153.95,"text":"Hizbollah on Saturday said its chief Naim Qassem had received a message from Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, that linking a ceasefire in Lebanon with any agreement between Iran and the US remained “a non-negotiable principle” for Tehran. "}],[{"start":170.14999999999998,"text":"However, Israeli officials have insisted they should have freedom of action in Lebanon, and US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Monday said that if Hizbollah fired missiles at Israel, Israel would have “every right to respond to that or to prevent that from happening”."}],[{"start":186.14999999999998,"text":"“That’s always been understood. It’s being understood during the ceasefire now in Lebanon, and it’ll be understood beyond that,” he said."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":194.04999999999998,"text":"Trump on Saturday said the “final aspects and details” of a deal with Iran would “be announced shortly”, raising hopes of an extension of the fragile ceasefire by 60 days and a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz."}],[{"start":207.2,"text":"But he later said he had told US negotiators “not to rush into a deal”, and Iranian officials on Monday said that, although the two sides had reached “conclusions on many issues”, an agreement was not imminent."}],[{"start":220.85,"text":"Since the ceasefire in Lebanon took effect on April 16, Israel has continued bombings across southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley that have often killed multiple people, including women and children. "}],[{"start":233.4,"text":"Meanwhile, Hizbollah has increasingly used first-person view drones to target Israeli soldiers operating on the swath of Lebanese territory that Israel has occupied and declared a “security zone”."}],[{"start":246.25,"text":"In total, Israel’s offensive in Lebanon has killed more than 3,150 people since March 2, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Hizbollah’s attacks have killed more than 25 Israeli soldiers and civilians."}],[{"start":260.1,"text":"Cartography by Jana Tauschinski"}],[{"start":272,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779770001_9806.mp3"}