Israel says won't differentiate between Lebanon and Hezbollah if ceasefire collapses

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Tuesday that if a ceasefire reached last week collapses, Israel will target the Lebanese state itself and will no longer differentiate between Lebanon and Hezbollah.

"If we return to war, we will act with greater force and penetrate deeper and... there will be no immunity for the state of Lebanon," he said during a tour of Israel’s northern border, adding that "until now, we made a distinction between Lebanon and Hezbollah... it will no longer be the case".

Katz spoke the day after Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes that killed nearly a dozen people. Those strikes came after Hezbollah fired 2 projectiles at an open occupied land as a warning over previous Israeli violations.

Speaking to troops on the northern border Tuesday, Katz said any violations of the agreement would be met with "a maximum response and zero tolerance."

He said if the war resumes, Israel will widen its strikes beyond the areas where Hezbollah’s activities are concentrated, and "there will no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon."

During the 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which came to an end last week with a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France, Israel largely refrained from striking critical infrastructure or the Lebanese armed forces, who kept to the sidelines. But many civilians and Lebanese soldiers were killed or wounded.

The ceasefire agreement that took effect last week gives 60 days for Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and for Hezbollah to relocate north of the Litani River. The buffer zone is to be patrolled by Lebanese armed forces and U.N. peacekeepers.

Israel has carried out multiple strikes in recent days in response to what it says are violations by Hezbollah. Hezbollah had not attacked Israel until Monday, after six days of Israeli violations, including strikes, shelling, and overflights. Before the Hezbollah projectiles, Israel carried out at least four airstrikes and an artillery barrage in southern Lebanon, including a drone strike that killed a person on a motorcycle, according to Lebanese state media. Another strike killed a corporal in the Lebanese security services.

Lebanon accused Israel of violating the truce more than 50 times in recent days by launching airstrikes, demolishing homes and uprooting trees near the border and violating Lebanon’s airspace, including in the capital Beirut.