'All of Lebanon must burn,' Israeli minister Ben Gvir declares
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Ayse Betul
on
Fri, 06/19/2026 - 15:47
A social media clash between senior Israeli and Iranian ministers broke out just hours before Israel and Hezbollah announced a ceasefire
Smoke rises after an Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon, 19 June 2026 (Jalaa Marey/AFP)
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Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said "all of Lebanon must burn" in a social media post after the deaths of four Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, drawing a response from the Iranian foreign minister, who labelled the Israeli leadership a "threat to all of humanity".
“For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers should cry," Ben Gvir wrote on X on Friday.
"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 is not in vain. All of Lebanon should burn."
He openly stated that he has pushed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abandon “measured” military strategies in the region.
“Enough with the ping-pong. In the Middle East, you don't win with measured responses and containment - you have to go crazy. Erase. Defeat terrorism.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded directly to Ben Gvir's post on X, saying that the comments should be viewed as official state rhetoric.
"This is not a rant by a random genocidal lunatic. It's a public post by the national security minister of the Israeli regime," Araghchi posted, characterising the Israeli leadership as “a genocidal death cult headquartered in Tel Aviv” and as “a threat to all of humanity”.
“It threatens all humans. Its only interest is permanent war.”
Ben Gvir’s comments were closely mirrored by fellow far-right cabinet member, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who similarly called on Israel to "open the gates of hell" on Lebanon in a social media post the same day.
Some other senior Israeli officials have openly said that troops will remain in southern Lebanon indefinitely, following the deaths of four Israeli soldiers there on Friday, including a battalion commander.
Despite the signing of the memorandum of understanding on Thursday, which effectively implements a ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, strikes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah continued overnight.
Lebanon's death toll on Friday due to Israeli airstrikes has risen to 47 killed since midnight.
The sharp social media exchange came just hours ahead of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah on Friday, which is expected to end some of the heaviest killings between the two sides since the start of the war.
However, Israel has conducted at least 12 strikes on southern Lebanon since the announcement of the ceasefire with Hezbollah in the afternoon, according to Al Jazeera reports.
Ceasefire challenges
Israel’s expanding military presence in Lebanon and the intensifying air strikes across southern and eastern parts of the country have been a challenging factor for the ceasefire talks between Iran and the US, negotiated by partners including Pakistan and Qatar.
The Lebanon front had become a major point of confrontation between the Trump administration and the Israeli government.
Donald Trump, the US president, has recently criticised the killings of civilians in Lebanon by the Israeli army, which claims to be striking Hezbollah bases only, and signalled that Israeli attacks in Lebanon threatened to derail the final agreement, which he said was “not easy” to complete.
Throughout the ceasefire efforts, Israel repeatedly rejected calls from the US as well as other G7 countries to withdraw troops from southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has been calling on the Lebanese government to reject any direct negotiations with Israel while Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue.
But the Lebanese government was openly hopeful that the US-Iran deal could end the hostilities in the region.
Lebanon's Ministry of Health says Israeli attacks since 2 March across the country have killed at least 3,696 people and injured 11,413 others.
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