'In Lebanon, we strike every time Hezbollah tries to raise its head,' says Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday night that Israel will strike each time Hezbollah “tries to raise its head.”

“In Lebanon, we strike every time Hezbollah tries to raise its head,” he said in a Hebrew-language video posted on X late in the evening.

On Sunday morning, the Israeli army heavily bombarded the Nabatieh area, carrying out 12 major strikes on the city’s heights. Israel claimed responsibility for the attacks, baselessly claiming it had targeted “underground military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah” in the Beaufort Castle region.

Arabic-language army spokesperson Avichay Adraee also claimed on X that “military activity had been detected” in the tunnels.

Later in the morning, an Israeli drone fired on a motorcycle in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, killing its driver, before a second raid struck the same area again. Hezbollah identified the victim as Ibrahim Ali Tawbeh, a member of the party, and announced his funeral.

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The cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect on Nov. 27, 2024, after the conflict began on Oct. 8, 2023, and eventually escalated to a nationwide war. Despite that, Israeli strikes remain a near-daily occurrence in southern Lebanon and, at times, in the Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

In the same video, Netanyahu also responded to critics questioning the “results of the war,” while addressing Hamas and Syria.

“To those who say there are almost no results in the war, I say these people are delusional. In just the past 24 hours, we have eliminated one of Hamas’ top officials,” he said. Israel claimed to have killed the spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, known as Abu Obeida.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the spokesman had been killed in Gaza. “Hamas’ terrorist spokesman Abu Obeida has been eliminated in Gaza and has joined the other eliminated individuals from the axis of evil of Iran, Lebanon and Yemen in the depths of hell,” Katz wrote on X.

“It’s not over — most Hamas leaders are abroad and we will reach them as well,” said Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, according to a military statement.

Netanyahu also commented on operations in southern Syria. “In Syria, we acted militarily a few days ago,” he said in the one-minute video. Last Thursday, he declared that Israel is “right now” holding talks to establish a demilitarized zone in southern Syria and a humanitarian corridor to the Druze-majority city of Sweida.