Israeli minister says 'all of Lebanon must burn' after four soldiers killed

BEIRUT: Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Friday (Jun 19) 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.

"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," 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."

Lieutenant Colonel Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon "fell in combat" along with three other soldiers whose names will be released later, the military said in a statement on Friday.

At least 18 people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Friday, Lebanon's health ministry said, while the Israeli military announced the troops' death.

The Lebanese health ministry said intensive airstrikes since midnight had hampered rescue and evacuation efforts, reporting a preliminary toll of 18 dead and 33 wounded that was expected to rise.

Israel said the strikes targeted what it described as Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure across several areas of southern Lebanon and were carried out in response to repeated ceasefire violations by the Iran-backed group.

Residents and Lebanese media said airstrikes and shelling hit several towns in the Nabatieh district overnight and into early Friday, in what Lebanon's state news agency NNA described as one of the heaviest bombardments in recent weeks.

Hezbollah said its fighters ambushed an Israeli force advancing near Ali al-Taher hill in southern Lebanon, destroying three Merkava tanks with guided missiles and targeting troops with rocket and artillery fire. The group said clashes were ongoing.

The escalation came a day after Israel published a map showing an expanded military control zone in southern Lebanon and said it would not rule out carrying out attacks beyond it, raising questions over a US-brokered agreement reached on Wednesday to end the US-Israeli war with Iran.

The agreement calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, and for parties to respect Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

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.

Netanyahu is under pressure ahead of elections due to be held by the end of October.

According to a poll published Friday by the newspaper Maariv, 63 per cent of Israelis are "worried" about the future of Israel following the deal.

Avigdor Lieberman, head of the nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu opposition party, called on Friday 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.

A senior Israeli official said Israel was engaged in "stubborn negotiations" with Trump's administration over maintaining troops up to 10km inside southern Lebanon as it pursues Hezbollah.

Israel has rejected calls to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah has continued attacks on Israeli positions, including with explosive drones that have killed and wounded troops this week.