Katz to Beirut: Act against Hezbollah or ‘Lebanon will pay the full price’

JNS Staff

Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (right) during a situational assessment at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv on March 7, 2026. Photo by Elad Malka/Israel Ministry of Defense.

Defense Minister Israel Katz told Beirut on Saturday to act swiftly against Hezbollah or else “Lebanon as a whole will pay the full price.”

Addressing Lebanese President Joseph Aoun directly during a situational assessment at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Katz said, “Lebanon is not the United Nations. You [and Lebanon] committed to implementing the [ceasefire] agreement and disarming Hezbollah, and that is not happening.”

He continued, “We will not allow harm to our communities, we will not allow harm to our soldiers, and if the two stand against one another, the Lebanese government and Lebanon as a whole will pay the full price.”

Katz warned that as things stand, Beirut is forcing Israel to ensure the safety of its own citizens and soldiers at the expense of the Lebanese Republic.

“We have no territorial claims against Lebanon, but we will not be prepared for Lebanese territory to once again become what it was for many years—a base for firing at the State of Israel. We will not allow a return to that situation. Therefore we are addressing and warning: Act and take action before we do even more,” the defense minister said.

If slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah “destroyed Lebanon, then [his successor], Naim Qassem, will also ruin it by continuing down this path,” Katz added.

Katz’s message was delivered in a recording from a meeting in the command bunker at the Kirya together with Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, alongside other senior IDF commanders.