JERUSALEM -- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday vowed to turn the area of southern Lebanon's Litani River into a military-controlled zone, and to continue striking Beirut until Hezbollah stops attacks.
If there is no peace in northern Israel, "there will be no peace in Beirut," Katz said in a statement released by his office.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a videotaped statement that he had instructed the military to deepen and expand its grip on Lebanese areas held by Hezbollah.
The instruction followed the capture of the Beaufort Ridge, including the strategic castle at its summit, in southern Lebanon by Israeli forces, an area beyond the "security zone" Israel has maintained since a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect in mid-April.
The move, which media reports called Israel's "deepest advance into Lebanon" in over 20 years, has been met with immediate condemnation from the Arab world, as well as France, Germany and Britain.
