Israeli minister Orit Strock argued that Iran, not Israel, is the real enemy and the main force undermining Lebanon’s sovereignty. In a post laying out eight points, she said Iran has spent decades building, through Hezbollah, “a huge machine of destruction” against Israel and continues to transfer “hundreds of millions of dollars” to its proxy network even while its own citizens suffer shortages.
Strock said Israel is not violating Lebanon’s sovereignty, but removing terror infrastructure that no sovereign state would accept on its territory. “As long as Hezbollah is there, there is no justification for us to leave,” she wrote, adding that the IDF is uncovering and destroying tunnels, weapons, headquarters and other assets built over more than a decade, in sizes she said are far greater than those in Gaza. She said Israel is turning Hezbollah-influenced villages into “terror outposts,” creating a border buffer free of threats, and exacting a price deeper inside Lebanon for attacks on soldiers.
She warned against stopping the campaign midway, saying Iran is alarmed by the destruction of its terror apparatus and by the IDF reaching its centers of gravity. She also cited what she called the legitimacy of continuing the clean-up operation, saying even Donald Trump understands Israel’s right and duty to remain in Lebanon and to carry out the work itself, without the Lebanese army or UNIFIL, which she said failed to prevent the rise of the terror network.
Strock rejected what she described as a demoralization campaign meant to make Israelis flee Lebanon again and allow the “terror empire” to recover on the northern border. She acknowledged operational limits because of the military and diplomatic situation, but said the achievements are “critical” in neutralizing threats and “dramatic” in changing the reality on the northern front and in the wider struggle against Iran and its proxies. She concluded that Israel should value the partnership with the United States, but stressed that responsibility for Israel’s security rests only with Israel, and that when Israel stands firm and explains itself well, Americans understand.
