Sa'ar Says Hezbollah Fired Over 7,000 Projectiles Since March

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar addressed the international session of the MUNI EXPO in Tel Aviv on Monday before governors and mayors from around the world, and used the speech to discuss the confrontation with Hezbollah. He said Israel had recently completed another round of what he called historic talks with Lebanon, conducted with U.S. mediation, and argued that Israel and Lebanon have no serious dispute beyond a few border points that could be solved quickly through negotiation.

Sa'ar said both countries face a common enemy. In his words, that enemy threatens “the future, sovereignty and independence of Lebanon,” and is also “the enemy of Israel’s security,” naming Hezbollah.

He also accused the group of starting the current fighting on March 2 after receiving instructions from Tehran, and said this was similar to Hezbollah’s role in the war that began on October 8, 2023, one day after Hamas’s attack on Israel. He noted that international media rarely emphasize this point.

According to Sa'ar, since March Hezbollah has launched more than 7,000 rockets, missiles and drones from Lebanon into Israel. He asked the audience to imagine their own cities under such attack and said no country could accept that without acting to restore the safety of its citizens.