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By: Joshua Marks
“There will be no ceasefire and no pause” in the fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.
Following his first meeting on Monday with the IDF General Staff Forum, Katz tweeted, “The impressive and powerful actions carried out by the IDF and security forces against Hezbollah, including the elimination of Nasrallah, represent a victory image, and it is essential to continue offensive operations to further degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and fully capitalize on the gains of this victory.”
Katz replaced Yoav Gallant as defense minister on Nov. 7, having previously served as Israel’s foreign minister.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut on Sept. 27.
“In Lebanon, there will be no ceasefire and no pause. We will continue to strike Hezbollah with full force until our war objectives are achieved,” Katz continued.
“Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not secure its right to independently enforce and prevent terrorism, achieve its war objectives in Lebanon, disarm Hezbollah, push them back beyond the Litani River, and allow northern residents to safely return to their homes,” he wrote.
With regard to Hezbollah’s backer Tehran, he tweeted: “Iran is more exposed than ever to strikes on its nuclear facilities. We have the opportunity to achieve our most important goal—to thwart and eliminate the existential threat to the State of Israel.”
His comments come amid reports of an emerging ceasefire agreement that would include the IDF having the right to respond to violations, Hezbollah withdrawing north of the Litani River, the Lebanese army dismantling the remaining terror infrastructure and the United States and Russia providing guarantees against Hezbollah rearming.
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer visited Russia last week amid the Lebanon ceasefire efforts, according to Israel’s Army Radio. Dermer met with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump at his Florida estate on Sunday, Axios reported on Monday, citing two Israeli officials and two U.S. officials.
An Israeli official said that Dermer conveyed messages from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Trump and discussed Israel’s plans in Lebanon and Gaza and against Iran, as well as Israeli-Saudi normalization.
“One of the things the Israelis wanted to sort out with Trump is what are the issues he prefers to see solved before January 20 and what are the issues he prefers the Israelis to wait for him [on],” a U.S. official told Axios.
Dermer also reportedly met with Trump’s son-in-law and former senior advisor Jared Kushner.
The Biden administration was notified before the Trump visit, and Dermer arrived in Washington on Monday for visits with senior U.S. officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Dermer is also expected to meet with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Biden’s advisers Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein.
U.S. officials told Axios that Netanyahu signaled to the Biden administration that he wants the war in Lebanon to end within weeks but that Washington and Jerusalem have yet to agree on the wording of a letter that would include the U.S. commitment that Israel would be allowed to take military action in Lebanon if it believes Hezbollah is rearming and reestablishing itself in the border area.
A U.S. official said that Hochstein and the Israelis had exchanged several drafts in recent days but hadn’t yet reached an agreement.
“We just have a couple more things to work through with the Israeli side, but we are almost done,” the official said.
(JNS.org)
