JERUSALEM, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday vowed to turn the area of southern Lebanon's Litani River into a military-controlled zone, and to continue striking Beirut until Hezbollah stops attacks.
If there is no peace in northern Israel, "there will be no peace in Beirut," Katz said in a statement released by his office.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a videotaped statement that he had instructed the military to deepen and expand its grip on Lebanese areas held by Hezbollah.
The instruction followed the capture of the Beaufort Ridge, including the strategic castle at its summit, in southern Lebanon by Israeli forces, an area beyond the "security zone" Israel has maintained since a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect in mid-April.
The move, which media reports called Israel's "deepest advance into Lebanon" in over 20 years, has been met with immediate condemnation from the Arab world, as well as France, Germany and Britain.
Earlier on Monday, an Israeli soldier from an elite commando unit was killed in southern Lebanon by an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah. Three other Israeli soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously, in the village of Yohmor.
The Israeli military said that throughout Monday morning, Hezbollah continued to launch rockets and drones towards northern Israel, some of which were successfully intercepted, and others fell in open areas, without casualties.
It said it had destroyed the launcher from which Hezbollah fired rockets Sunday night towards Tiberias, a city in northeastern Israel, with no injuries reported.
Later on Monday, Netanyahu and Katz said in a joint statement that they had ordered the military to strike Beirut's southern suburbs.
According to the statement, the order was given following "repeated Hezbollah violations" of the ceasefire in Lebanon.
Israel's Channel 12 News reported that the order came after the United States approved Israel's requests to expand military activity in Lebanon, shifting from an initial focus on the country's south to include airstrikes in the capital city.
Despite the April ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes in Lebanon, while Hezbollah has launched attacks on Israeli military positions.
According to Lebanon's Public Health Emergency Operations Center, Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed more than 3,400 people and wounded over 10,200 others in Lebanon. ■
