Israel Threatens to 'Burn All of Lebanon' After Four Soldiers Killed

Four Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat with Hezbollah, prompting a furious response from Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who threatened to set all of Lebanon ablaze. ‘With all due respect to America, Israel must make clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are non-negotiable. All of Lebanon must burn,’ the hardline minister said in a statement, as reported by AFP on Friday (19/6/2026).

Lebanese authorities earlier said 18 people were killed on Friday in Israeli air strikes in the south. Meanwhile, the Israeli military reported its first troop deaths in Lebanon since a US-Iran agreement to halt the Middle East war, including in Lebanon.

On Friday (19/6), Israel said it struck Hezbollah targets overnight and into the morning. The Iran-backed militant group said it attacked Israeli forces near the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh. ‘Intensive Israeli air strikes carried out from midnight until this morning prevented the evacuation of martyrs and the wounded, resulting in a provisional toll of 18 martyrs and 33 wounded across at least 10 villages and towns,’ Lebanon’s Health Ministry stated.

The strikes were the deadliest since Iran and the United States agreed to end the Middle East war. The Israeli military said Lieutenant Colonel Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon had ‘fallen in battle’ along with three other soldiers, whose identities have not yet been released. A separate statement reported that a reserve officer was seriously wounded ‘as a result of an explosive drone strike in southern Lebanon’, with four other Israeli soldiers lightly injured in the same incident.

US officials, including President Donald Trump, had previously expressed disappointment over Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, which have continued despite American negotiations with Iran. The strikes occurred despite a ceasefire agreement reached in April intended to halt the fighting in Lebanon.