Netanyahu Vows to Eliminate Hezbollah, Keep Israeli Forces in South Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel will continue its military operations against Hezbollah for as long as needed and vowed to eliminate the group, according to Breaking The News. Speaking in a radio interview, he described Hezbollah as weakened and a shadow of its former self.

Netanyahu said Israel intends to remain in its security zone in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed. He added that he does not trust the Lebanese government to carry out that disarmament.

His remarks followed fresh reports of Israeli military activity in southern Lebanon. Lebanon's National News Agency said Israeli forces shelled al-Mansouri overnight, with 155mm artillery shells striking the town, and separately described a demolition operation in Khiam as massive.

Both al-Mansouri and Khiam lie along the Yellow Line, which marks the boundary of Israeli-occupied territory in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese agency.

The comments came amid wider regional diplomacy. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Dialogue in Bahrain that Moscow is working to avert a full-scale war in the Gulf, calling for direct talks between Gulf states and neighbouring countries including Iraq and Jordan, with possible involvement from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the UN Security Council.

Separately, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi called continuing Houthi attacks deliberate criminal behaviour requiring a firm international stance, saying Saudi Arabia's security is integral to that of the GCC and urging pressure on Iran to abide by international law. Iran's Ali Shirazi also said Tehran has set up a new system for managing shipping and energy transit in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz without Washington's involvement.