'All of Lebanon must burn,' Israeli minister Ben Gvir declares

<article data-history-node-id="442714" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/all-lebanon-must-burn-israeli-minister-ben-gvir-declares" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/all-lebanon-must-burn-israeli-minister-ben-gvir-declares" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">'All of Lebanon must burn,' Israeli minister Ben Gvir declares</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel" target="_blank">Israeli</a>&nbsp;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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/lebanon" target="_blank">Lebanon</a>, drawing a response from the Iranian foreign minister, who labelled the Israeli leadership a "threat to all of humanity".</p> <p>“For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers should cry," Ben Gvir&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/itamarbengvir/status/2067865510281170957?s=20" target="_blank">wrote on X</a>&nbsp;on Friday.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p>He openly stated that he has pushed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abandon “measured” military strategies in the region.</p> <p>“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.”</p> <h3>Read more:&nbsp;<a aria-label="'All of Lebanon must burn,' Israeli minister Ben Gvir declares" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/all-lebanon-must-burn-israeli-minister-ben-gvir-declares">'All of Lebanon must burn,' Israeli minister Ben Gvir declares</a></h3> <p><img alt="Smoke rises after an Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon, 19 June 2026 (Jalaa Marey/AFP)" src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/max_2600x2600/public/images-story/lebanon-israeli-strike-hezbollah-iran.jpg.jpg?itok=KPrKNb9W"></p> </div> </div> </article>