Netanyahu says he told IDF to ‘intensify blows’ against Hezbollah amid surge in drone attacks

Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the weekly cabinet meeting on May 17, 2026. (Screenshot/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the weekly cabinet meeting on May 17, 2026. (Screenshot/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he instructed the military to “press the pedal even harder” against Hezbollah, after a US official signaled that Washington would approve a larger operation against the Iran-backed terror group amid a surge in drone attacks.

“We are at war with Hezbollah. Just in recent weeks, our brave fighters have eliminated more than 600 terrorists,” Netanyahu says in a video statement. “But we are not taking our foot off the gas. On the contrary, I have instructed them to press the pedal even harder.”

“We will strike them. Yes, they are attacking us with drones, cyber-enabled drones, and we have a special team working on this — and we will solve that too…But what this requires from us now is to intensify the blows, increase the force. We will strike them decisively,” the premier says.

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