Liberman, Smotrich demand strikes on Beirut after four IDF soldiers killed by Hezbollah drones

Calls for severe retaliation against Lebanon echoed through Israeli politics after Hezbollah drones killed four IDF soldiers on Friday. Ministers and party leaders demanded strikes on Beirut's Dahiyeh neighborhood, framing the attack as a direct failure of the government's security policy.

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If after the difficult event in which four fighters fall, and families are destroyed, then Dahiyeh is still standing tall - this is a direct failure of the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister.

Avigdor Liberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, posted on X/Twitter that if Dahiyeh remains standing after the deaths of four soldiers, it represents a failure by the Prime Minister and Defense Minister. He asserted that Israel must exact a heavy price for every injury to its soldiers, stating, "IDF soldiers are not ducks at a shooting range."

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IDF soldiers are not ducks at a shooting range. For every injury to our soldiers, we must exact a heavy price that the other side will not forget.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir intensified the rhetoric, declaring, "All of Lebanon must burn!" He argued that Israel must make it clear to the world that the blood of its citizens and soldiers is not forfeit, prioritizing their security above all else. Ben-Gvir advocated for overwhelming force, stating, "In the Middle East, you don’t win with measured responses and restraint - you need to go berserk. To obliterate. To crush the terror."

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All of Lebanon must burn!

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich echoed these sentiments, calling for Israel to "speak with fire" and "open the gates of hell." Meanwhile, opposition leader Yair Lapid and President Isaac Herzog offered condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers, acknowledging the profound grief and sacrifice. Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Democrats chairman Yair Golan also expressed their sorrow and reflected on the unbearable cost of war.

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With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not forfeit.