Shafaq News- Beirut

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged intensified military action against Lebanon on Friday after the Israeli army announced the deaths of four soldiers, including a battalion commander, during fighting in the south.

“All of Lebanon must burn,” Ben-Gvir stated. “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 are not up for bargaining.”

על כל דמעה של אמא ישראלית, אלף אמהות לבנוניות צריכות לבכות. לבנון כולה צריכה לבעור!עם כל הכבוד לאמריקאים, ישראל חייבת להבהיר לעולם כולו שדם בנינו וביטחון אזרחנו איננו הפקר. לבנון כולה צריכה לבעור. חובתנו העליונה היא להגן על אזרחי ישראל ועל חיילי צה״ל, והמחויבות הזו קודמת לכל…

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) June 19, 2026

The Chairman of the Religious Zionist Party, Bezalel Smotrich, described what happened in Lebanon today as a tough morning. “Time to speak with fire. To open the gates of hell.”

בוקר קשה.וידום אהרון.זמן לדבר באש. לפתוח את שערי הגיהנום.

— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) June 19, 2026

Israeli warplanes widened their campaign to the eastern Beqaa, where strikes hit the Ain Bourday area on the outskirts of Douris near Baalbek and a farm in Al-Jamaliyeh north of the city, killing three people, sources told Shafaq News.

According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed 3,912 people and wounded 11,873 others, including women and children.

The escalation also derailed planned US-Iran negotiations in the Swiss resort of Burgenstock after Tehran suspended its delegation's trip over developments in southern Lebanon. An informed source told Lebanese Al Mayadeen television network that Tehran had previously informed Washington that events on the ground would shape the future of the negotiations and warned that Israeli troops operating up to 10 kilometers inside Lebanese territory are violating the first clause of the existing memorandum of understanding between the two sides.