Israeli minister Ben-Gvir: ‘All of Lebanon should be our playground,’ no ceasefire, let it burn

Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a key member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s hawkish cabinet, has called for rejecting any ceasefire in Lebanon, declaring that the entire country “should be Israel’s playground.”

“All of Lebanon should be our target. Israel cannot agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon,” Ben-Gvir told Israel’s public broadcaster KAN on Monday.

He dismissed any distinction between Lebanon and Hezbollah, saying, “I don’t accept this artificial approach.”

The minister urged Netanyahu to clearly inform US President Donald Trump that Israel rejects any ceasefire in Lebanon.

“Trump is a true friend, and we must treat him politely and embrace him, but we need to tell him that we cannot agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon,” Ben-Gvir said.

“We are the ones making decisions, and there are good results for our soldiers,” he added.

On Saturday, i24 News quoted unnamed senior Israeli officials as saying that Netanyahu has instructed ministers to avoid personal attacks on Trump.

Ben-Gvir had earlier written on X that “all of Lebanon must burn” and that “for every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep.”

In a post on X on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the provocative statements by senior Israeli ministers calling for intensified attacks on Lebanon.

He warned that the only interest of the genocidal Israeli regime is permanent war.

Israeli minister Ben-Gvir urges Netanyahu to ‘level Beirut suburbs to the ground’

Ben-Gvir calls on Netanyahu to flatten the suburbs of the Lebanese capital as Israel escalates its aggression against the Arab country.

Ben-Gvir’s hardline opposition comes amid growing disputes inside Israel over the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran and its implications for ending Israeli aggression on the Lebanese front.

Iranian officials have repeatedly stressed that halting Israeli attacks in Lebanon is a key component of the memorandum of understanding signed by the presidents of Iran and the United States on Thursday.

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 4,100 people and injured over 12,000 others since March 2, when Israel launched its latest round of aggression.

Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, some held for decades and others seized during the 2023–2024 aggression.

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