Israel Katz contradicts IDF, threatens large invasion of Lebanon after Hezbollah barrage
Just before Katz’s statement, multiple IDF sources told The Jerusalem Post that the IDF is still not in favor of launching a full invasion of Lebanon, despite Hezbollah’s heavy attacks on the North.
Less than an hour after the IDF said that it was not close to engaging in a broader invasion of Lebanon, Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a statement seeming to threaten exactly such an imminent invasion.
Just before Katz’s statement, multiple IDF sources told The Jerusalem Post that the IDF is still not in favor of launching a full invasion of Lebanon, despite Hezbollah’s heavy attacks on the North on Wednesday night, but is considering it as a more real option once the war with Iran calms down.
Despite Hezbollah firing over 200 rockets overnight (compared to at most 100 per day until now during this conflict) and an increased pace in drone attacks, the IDF still views Iran as the central theater of the current multifront war, with Lebanon being a secondary front mainly to prevent any attacks from Hezbollah and to keep the terror group on its back feet.
However, Katz then issued a statement that, on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he had warned Lebanese President Joseph Aoun that if the Lebanese military did not crack down on Hezbollah rocket fire on Israel, the IDF would launch a larger invasion in Lebanon to bring down the rocket fire.
Ballistic missiles fired from Lebanon are intercepted by Israel’s air defense system over northern Israel, March 11, 2026. (credit: AYAL MARGOLIN/FLASH90)
Katz was sitting next to IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai,IDF Operations Command Chief Maj. Gen. Itzik Cohen, Air Force Chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, Home Front Command Chief Maj. Gen. Shai Kleper and other top officials as he spoke, with Yadai keeping a nondescript facial expression throughout the video.
Israel’s policy on Lebanon unclear
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir was not in the video, with Katz and the IDF chief doing fewer joint appearances than some prior officials in their roles, likely given pre-war tensions between the two over the defense minister’s interference in various policies and appointments, which Zamir sought to carry out.
It was unclear if Israeli policy had shifted to a larger invasion of Lebanon sooner, even with the Iran war still fully playing out, or if the IDF’s stated policy of waiting at least until the Iran war is over is the real policy, and Katz’s statement was more for public and political consumption.
