Stormy Cabinet Meeting Exposes Rift Over Lebanon Talks and Rules of Engagement

A tense meeting of Israel’s political-security cabinet was held Thursday night amid the ongoing, U.S.-mediated talks with Lebanon, now in their fourth day. The discussion exposed sharp disagreements between ministers and the military over how Israel should respond to threats from the north.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "Any immediate threat, our forces on the ground respond. We are not restricting any soldier," adding that "the Americans understand our right to defend ourselves." Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir pushed back at the ministers, telling them, "You wanted a ceasefire."

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir replied, "I do not want a ceasefire, precisely because of that," and asked why Israel should not dismantle Hezbollah if it is seen arming itself. He said wounded soldiers had been hurt and called the situation "an opportunity to collapse the agreement," arguing that Israel could "hit hundreds of targets and bomb them." Minister Orit Strock said Hezbollah "continues to funnel ammunition" and claimed soldiers feel criticism of immediate responses as if they are "in a shooting range."

Defense Minister Israel Katz said, "Every soldier can respond immediately," and added that ceasefire arrangements have advantages and disadvantages, but "we are not putting any soldier at risk." Minister Vasserlauf said the response should be "but not beyond the yellow line." The fifth round of Israel-Lebanon negotiations will continue today, which is the fourth day of talks.