Israel’s Smotrich urges harsh action: 'Open the gates of hell on Lebanon'

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for a harsh retaliation against Lebanon following a night of intense fighting.

In a post on X, Smotrich described it as a “tough morning” after the army announced that four soldiers had been killed during combat in southern Lebanon, News.Az reports.

“Time to speak with fire. To open the gates of hell,” he added.

"Enough with the ping-pong. In the Middle East, you don’t win with measured responses and restraint—you need to go berserk. To obliterate. To crush the terror," Ben-Gvir warned.

A tank battalion commander of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and three other soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon overnight, the military announced on Friday.

The slain officer is named as Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, 32, the commander of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion, from Beit HaShita.

The names of the other soldiers are expected to be published later.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev