Israel’s new defense minister says country has defeated Hezbollah
Israel's newly appointed minister of defense, Israel Katz, announced Sunday that his country has defeated Hezbollah after killing its leader in an airstrike in September.
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Israel's recently appointed defense minister declared on Sunday that his nation has crushed Hezbollah, citing the death of Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Lebanese terrorist group, as the greatest victory.
On September 27, the Israel Defense Forces launched an attack on the Iran-backed organization's headquarters in southern Beirut, killing Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike.
The Israeli military also claimed to have murdered Hashem Safieddine late last month, who was widely anticipated to assume leadership of Hezbollah following Nasrallah's death.
"Now it is our job to continue to put pressure in order to bring about the fruits of that victory," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday during a ceremony at Israel's foreign ministry.
Katz added that Israel is not interested in meddling in internal Lebanese politics as Israel has "learned our lessons." He also said he hoped an international coalition would capitalize on this opportunity, politically, and that Lebanon would join other countries in normalizing relations with Israel.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, before later in the day announcing that Katz would be Gallant’s replacement.
The move came as Israel is engaged in multiple conflicts, fighting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as exchanging long-range blows with Iran.
In later remarks to the media, Gallant said he and Netanyahu disagreed on three issues: the drafting of Haredi men into the army; getting the hostages home; a state commission of inquiry into the intelligence failures prior to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
Israeli forces launched airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Sunday, again striking the neighborhood where Safieddine was killed last month.
Hezbollah also launched multiple rockets into northern Israel and claimed credit for a drone attack that damaged Netanyahu's home.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Reuters contributed to this report.
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