The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas (on the left), listens to the Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar, during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem on March 24, 2025. (Credit: Menahem Kahana/AFP)
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar stated that the Lebanese state must eliminate "terrorist organizations operating from its territory against Israel," following the Israeli strike on the southern suburb of Beirut on Monday night to Tuesday on a residential building. He added that "Israel will continue to eliminate any threat against its citizens," while commenting on the ongoing military operation in Gaza, during a press conference for foreign media, reported by the Times of Israel.
"We expect Lebanon to take measures to eliminate the terrorist organizations operating from its territory against Israel," he stated. The rocket fire, still unclaimed, towards northern Israel on March 22 and 28, did not cause any casualties, but led to deadly "responses" on Lebanon.
Commenting on the strike on Tuesday morning, which notably killed Hassan Bdeir, a Hezbollah official in charge of the Palestinian dossier, Saar stated that "what we have seen here is cooperation between Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas on Lebanese soil aimed at initiating terrorist attacks against Israelis."
The Israeli army announced a few minutes after the strike that it had targeted a "Hezbollah terrorist who directed Hamas operatives and assisted them in planning a significant and imminent terrorist attack against Israeli civilians," and that the person targeted "posed a real and immediate threat," without naming them.
'Hamas continues to push ... to war'
Mentioning the large-scale military operation ongoing in Gaza, which has killed more than 1,000 people since March 18, including 322 children in ten days, according to UNICEF, Saar placed the responsibility on Hamas.
"Hamas continues to push for the resumption of war, refuses to release our hostages, refuses to disarm," he argued, stating that the Palestinian movement "ignores the will and anger of Gaza's citizens," in reference to the protests last week in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli foreign minister also announced that he would travel to Paris on Wednesday to meet with his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, as well as other officials, to discuss "the challenges and threats posed by the radical axis in the region, primarily Iran," reported the Times of Israel. Last Friday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visited Paris where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron. Both criticized the Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut in Hadath.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.