After Beirut strike, Sa’ar says Lebanese government must prevent attacks on Israel

Israel calls on Lebanon to crack down on terrorist groups in their country and prevent future attacks against Israel, says Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, after an IDF strike killed a top Hezbollah operative overnight, who Israel says was plotting an imminent attack against Israeli civilians.

“We expect Lebanon to take action to uproot terrorist organizations acting within its borders against Israel,” the minister says at a press conference for foreign media.

“What we saw here is cooperation between Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas on the soil of Lebanon in order to initiate terrorist attacks against Israelis,” says Sa’ar.

The IDF, Shin Bet and Mossad said in a joint statement that the attack targeted Hassan Bdair a member of Hezbollah and the Iranian IRGC Quds Force, who was recently operating in coordination with Hamas and directing members of the Palestinian terror group to carry out a “significant and imminent terror attack against Israeli civilians.”

“Israel will continue to remove any threat to our citizens,” says the foreign minister.

He comments on Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, saying that “Hamas continues to push for the renewal of the war, refusing to release our hostages, refusing to disarm,” and that “Hamas ignores the will and the rage of the citizens of Gaza.”

Sa’ar says he will visit Paris tomorrow to meet with his French counterpart and other officials, to discuss “the challenges and threats of the radical axis in this region to all of us, mainly Iran.”

He adds that yesterday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “once again…declared his will to eliminate the State of Israel,” likely referring to statements the ruler published on X.

Thank you for making yourself clear again. https://t.co/udLuWgxLSc

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) April 1, 2025