Israeli defense minister threatens further strikes on Beirut if cease-fire not upheld

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz released another statement threatening further action in Lebanon, specifically that the Israeli army will carry out additional strikes in Beirut if it deems that Lebanon is not effectively enforcing its part of the cease-fire agreement, which Israel itself has been accused of violating hundreds of times.

“As I said, the fate of Kiryat Shmona is the same as Beirut," Katz said in a statement following the Israeli airstrike on Beirut — the first since the cease-fire — in response to two rockets fired toward northern Israel this morning. "If there is no quiet in Kiryat Shmona and in the Galilee communities, there will be no quiet in Beirut. For any attempt to harm the Galilee communities, the roofs of homes in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district will shake."

“I send a clear message to the Lebanese government: If you do not enforce the cease-fire agreement, we will,” Katz said, cited by Times of Israel.