‘Crush, not anaesthetise’: Ben Gvir denounces Lebanon deal, seeks cabinet vote

Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir has denounced the newly signed agreement with Lebanon as a "grave mistake" and said he has asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring the deal to a vote in the Security Cabinet.

Acknowledging that Israeli forces remain in most areas for now, he argued that "the Lebanese state will not disarm Hezbollah" and said he would continue to demand a cabinet vote on the agreement.

In a separate post calling to "crush, not to anaesthetise", the far-right minister said that Israel should pursue "total military victory" rather than rely on what he described as "empty international promises".

"Agreements are only signed with those you've completely defeated. Against murderous terrorist organizations, you don't sign worthless papers—you achieve clear victory against them," he said. 

On 19 June, Ben Gvir's post was flagged by the X social media platform in which he called for all of Lebanon to “burn”. He has repeatedly called for Palestinians in Gaza to be "annihilated".