Israeli minister Ben-Gvir says 'all of Lebanon must burn'
· RTE.ieFar-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said today that "all of Lebanon must burn" after Israel's military announced the deaths of four soldiers there.
The Israeli losses were the first to be announced since a US-Iran deal was signed to end the Middle East war.
The agreement was also supposed to halt the fighting between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Washington has expressed frustration at Israel's ongoing campaign there.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in south Lebanon killed at least 18 people, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
"With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for bargaining. All of Lebanon must burn," Mr Ben Gvir said in a statement.
"For every tear shed by an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep," he added.
"In the Near East, you don't win with measured responses and restraint."
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel must "go wild. Eradicate. Defeat terrorism."
"We must let fire speak ... and open the gates of hell," he added, without explicitly mentioning Lebanon.
The US-Iran agreement has been widely perceived in Israel as detrimental to its interests, signalling a failure by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to force US President Donald Trump to take account of Israeli security demands.
Mr Netanyahu is under pressure ahead of elections due to be held by the end of October.
According to a poll published today by the newspaper Maariv, 63% of Israelis are "worried" about the future of Israel following the deal.
Avigdor Lieberman, head of the nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu opposition party, called today for a "heavy price" to be exacted in Lebanon "from which the other side will never recover".
If Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, "are still standing, this is a direct failure of the prime minister and the defence minister", he wrote on X.
Israeli strikes on south Lebanon kill 18 people
Lebanon said 18 people were killed today in Israeli airstrikes in the south.
Israel had said it was striking Hezbollah targets overnight and into the morning, while the Iran-backed militant group said it was attacking Israeli forces around the southern town of Nabatieh.
"The intensive Israeli airstrikes carried out from midnight until this morning have prevented the evacuation of the martyrs and wounded, and have resulted in a preliminary toll of 18 martyrs and 33 wounded" in at least 10 villages and towns, the Lebanese health ministry said.
The strikes were the deadliest since Iran and the United States agreed to halt the wider Middle East war on Monday.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, said Lieutenant Colonel Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon had "fallen in combat" along with three other soldiers it did not immediately identify.
In a separate statement it reported a reserve officer was severely wounded "as a result of an explosive drone impact in southern Lebanon", with four other soldiers lightly injured in the incident.
US officials, including President Trump, have expressed frustration at Israel's campaign in Lebanon, which it has pursued in spite of the US's negotiations with Iran, as well as a separate ceasefire agreed in April that was meant to halt the fighting there.
Israel has rejected calls to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah has kept up attacks on Israeli positions, some employing explosive drones that have killed and wounded troops this week.
The Israeli military had said in an earlier statement that it was carrying out strikes in response to "repeated violations of the ceasefire" by Hezbollah.
"During the night, the army struck and continues to strike Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure in several areas in southern Lebanon," the military said in a statement.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, said its fighters had targeted "three Merkava tanks with guided missiles, which led to their destruction".
The group said Israeli forces "consisting of an armoured platoon and an infantry platoon (tried) to infiltrate towards the northern side of the Ali al-Taher hills" - a strategic site overlooking the key town of Nabatieh.
"The clashes are still ongoing," Hezbollah said in the statement released in the early hours of this morning.
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in early March by attacking Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader at the start of the US-Israeli military campaign.
Israel retaliated with broad strikes across Lebanon and by launching a ground invasion in the south, which borders Israel and has long been under Hezbollah's sway.