Israeli ministers demand explanation for pause in Beirut strikes

The Israeli Air Force has not struck Hezbollah targets in the Lebanese capital in four days.

By JNS

Israeli ministers demand answers over reported pause in Beirut attacks
Members of the Cabinet say they were excluded from the alleged decision to halt strikes against Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital.

Kan News reported on Monday that Israeli Cabinet ministers are furious about being excluded from a decision reportedly to pause attacks in Beirut.

The Israeli Air Force has not struck Hezbollah targets in the Lebanese capital in four days, with Kan reporting that the directive was issued in writing on Friday morning, following an unusual Israeli strike in western Beirut on Thursday that resulted in dozens of casualties.

The Americans reportedly sent an angry message to Jerusalem following the western Beirut strike, because in a phone call the previous day, U.S. President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “avoid harming civilians in densely populated areas.”

After a long period of American backing for Israel’s actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein over the weekend called the western Beirut strike “absolutely unacceptable.”

According to the Kan report, the political-security Cabinet ministers only found out about the instructions to avoid Beirut from the media, causing outrage.

Sources told Kan that the ministers will demand answers from Netanyahu and the security establishment at the upcoming Cabinet meeting, unless the Beirut strikes resume.

An Israeli official on Sunday night denied Hebrew media reports that Israel’s political echelon had directed the Israel Defense Forces to pause airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Beirut.

The reports are “entirely false,” the source told the Times of Israel, adding that “Israel maintains freedom of action all across Lebanon, depending on the location of the targets.”

Netanyahu held another security consultation on Monday evening about an Israeli strike on Iran and about the Israeli response in Lebanon to the deadly Hezbollah drone attack on an IDF base, said Kan.

“According to a source familiar with the discussions, Israel plans to launch a broad attack in Lebanon, possibly even in Beirut, despite the directive issued on Friday morning to avoid strikes in the Lebanese capital,” Kan reported.

“According to the source, the prime minister has instructed that any strike in Beirut requires his personal approval, following his conversation with President Biden.”

On Tuesday morning, the IDF reported that more than 200 Hezbollah terrorist targets in Southern Lebanon and deep within the country, including terrorist cells, anti-tank-missile posts and surface-to-surface missile launchers, were struck over the course of 24 hours.

On Monday, Israel intercepted three surface-to-surface missiles fired at the center of the country, including Tel Aviv, by Hezbollah in Lebanon.

IAF fighter jets attacked the launchers in Lebanon from which the missiles were fired.

BeirutIDFIsrael Security Cabinet