Visiting southern Lebanon, Katz warns Hezbollah against drone attacks on Israel
Touring IDF posts after deadline to withdraw troops was delayed, defense minister says ‘either there won’t be drones, or there won’t be Hezbollah’

Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened on Sunday that Hezbollah would pay a “very heavy price” if it continued to launch drones at Israel despite the ceasefire deal.
According to Katz’s office, the defense minister visited southern Lebanon on Sunday, touring IDF positions there alongside senior military commanders to monitor the implementation of the extension of the truce.
Under the original terms of the deal, signed between Israel and Lebanon in late November, Israeli troops and Hezbollah forces were both supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 26. Last month, Israel said it would instead remain in the area through February 18, accusing Hezbollah of not vacating the area and saying the Lebanese army was not deploying quickly enough to replace it.
“In recent days we have seen attempts to launch drones at Israel,” Katz said Sunday. “I want to send a clear message from here to Hezbollah and the Lebanese government: Israel won’t agree to drones being launched from Lebanon. We won’t allow a return to the reality of October 7, [2023]. We will foil threats and respond with full force.”
On Thursday the IDF said it shot down a drone launched by Hezbollah for the first time since the ceasefire went into effect. Later that night, Israeli fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in eastern Lebanon.
“Either there won’t be drones, or there won’t be Hezbollah,” Katz said. “I suggest that the successor to the successor of [slain Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah not underestimate Israel’s determination as his predecessors did, lest he pay a very heavy price.”

Israel killed Nasrallah in an airstrike in September, and a week later, killed Hashem Safieddine, who had been seen as a likely successor as Hezbollah secretary-general. The group is currently headed by Naim Qassem, who is slated to give a public speech Sunday evening.
On Sunday morning, Lebanese media reported that the Israeli Navy detained a fisherman off the coast of Naqoura in southern Lebanon.
Earlier, reports in Lebanon claimed Israeli forces opened fire on civilians attempting to return to the border village of Yaroun. There was no immediate comment from the IDF on the incidents.
The IDF has warned Lebanese residents against returning to south Lebanon villages amid the ongoing ceasefire.

“Do not move south! The IDF is not interested in hurting you. Do not return to your homes until further notice. Anyone who travels south puts themselves at risk,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, wrote on X on Sunday morning.
Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones at Israel’s north, unprovoked, on October 8, 2023 — a day after thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
After almost a year of tit-for-tat exchanges, Israel launched a major air offensive in September, followed by a limited ground offensive in October to eliminate Hezbollah leadership, push its forces northward and destroy its assets in villages near the border, which were prepared for the purpose of invading Israel.