Israel says to use ‘full force’ in Lebanon despite truce if soldiers face threat

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that the military had been instructed to use “full force” in Lebanon – even during the continuing ceasefire – should Israeli troops face any threat.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to act with full force, both on the ground and from the air, including during the ceasefire, in order to protect our soldiers in Lebanon from any threat,” Katz said at a function in the occupied West Bank.

Later in the day, the army said its troops had killed an “armed terrorist” who “violated the ceasefire understandings by crossing the Forward Defence Line and approaching IDF soldiers, posing an immediate threat”.

Katz also said the military had been ordered to demolish any structure or roads that were “booby-trapped” and threatened soldiers.

The army would likewise “remove the houses in the contact villages near the border that served in every respect as Hezbollah terror outposts and threatened Israeli communities”, he added.

An Israeli soldier was killed in southern Lebanon on Friday – after the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect – when he entered a booby-trapped building, the military reported.