Cabinet Ministers Demand a Retaliatory Strike as Israel Holds Back

Several cabinet ministers are publicly pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to respond forcefully to renewed fire from Lebanon, while Israel has not yet carried out a major retaliation. The demands came after a third straight day of attacks on northern Israel, and as two suspected drones crossed into Israeli territory on Sunday morning and fell in the Western Galilee.

Finance Minister and Defense Ministry ministerial aide Bezalel Smotrich said the shelling of northern communities is “a test of the Dahieh equation” that Netanyahu announced, urging him to “implement it with determination and force” and to “bring down buildings in the Dahieh today.” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said, “On every drone, a missile. On every violation, fire. On every UAV, the Dahieh must tremble. On every hair on an IDF soldier’s head, a thousand Hezbollah terrorists.”

The rhetoric follows a fresh breach of the ceasefire around 8:00 a.m. Sunday. Residents captured video showing one of the two drones hitting near the border community of Shlomi, not far from homes. The IDF said it identified two impacts of suspected aerial targets inside Israel near the Lebanese border, and sirens were sounded in Bezet, Hof Bezet, Rosh Hanikra and Shlomi.

Despite the ministers’ calls, reports from Lebanon indicated only limited strikes so far, with mention of pinpoint attacks in southern Lebanon rather than the Beirut suburb of Dahieh. Defense Minister Israel Katz had warned only days earlier that “Dahieh in Beirut will be treated like the northern communities,” while also saying any Iranian attempt to connect Lebanon and Iran and attack Israel would be met with “great force.” Other ministers, including Miki Zohar and Eli Cohen, also echoed demands for immediate strikes if drones or rockets continue.