Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday called for rejecting any ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, describing the country as “Israel’s playground” in remarks that have highlighted deepening divisions within the Israeli leadership over the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Lebanon.
Speaking to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, Ben Gvir said that Israel could not agree to a ceasefire and urged Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu to convey the rejection to President Donald Trump.
“Trump is a true friend, and we must treat him politely and embrace him, but we need to tell him that we cannot agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon,” Ben Gvir told KAN.
“We are the ones making decisions, and there are good results for our soldiers,” he added, referring to the illegal occupation of Lebanon.
At his Otzma Yehudit party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Ben Gvir argued that after paying heavy prices over the past several years, Israel had reached “the point closest to a decisive victory” and warned against what he described as “weak ceasefires”.
“The equation must be very simple and clear: the State of Israel must be safe. If Israel is not safe, Beirut will look like Beit Hanoun,” he said, referencing the near-total destruction of the northern Gaza town.
“If Lebanon allows its territory to be turned into a terror base against the State of Israel, Beirut needs to understand that it cannot continue to conduct business as usual.”
Ben Gvir also said that his position was that Israel “cannot tolerate a single tear from an Israeli mother, even if there are tears from a thousand Lebanese mothers.”
When asked about US Vice President (VP) JD Vance’s criticism of his opposition to the US-Iran ceasefire deal, Ben Gvir acknowledged appreciation for the Americans but said there had been “cases where the Americans were not with us, and despite that, we won.”
“I appreciate the vice president, but I am more committed to our soldiers and our residents. I want to say thank you to the Americans, but our red line is harming soldiers and harming civilians,” he said.
Ben Gvir’s remarks come amid growing disputes within Israeli political and security circles over a memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran and its implications for the Lebanese front.
Israeli news site i24NEWS, citing officials, reported that Tel Aviv fears a US-Iran agreement could strengthen Tehran, with officials claiming the Trump administration “misunderstands the ideology driving Tehran and Hezbollah.”
His latest statements follow similar remarks made earlier, after the Israeli military confirmed the deaths of four of its soldiers during genocide in southern Lebanon, which Israel is illegally occupying.
Following that announcement, Ben Gvir released a statement saying that “all of Lebanon must burn” and that “the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for bargaining.”
“I told the prime minister, even in our private meetings: for every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep,” he said at the time.
Ben Gvir also called for an escalation in genocide, rejecting previous operational approaches. “Enough with the ping-pong. In the Middle East, you don’t win with measured responses and restraint, you have to go crazy. To obliterate. To crush the terror,” he added.
