Israel’s new defense minister says country has defeated Hezbollah

Israel’s newly appointed minister of defense said Sunday his country has defeated Hezbollah, noting that the elimination of the Lebanese terrorist organization’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was the crowning achievement.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27 when the Israel Defense Forces attacked the Iran-backed group’s headquarters in southern Beirut.

Late last month, the Israeli military also said it eliminated Hashem Safieddine, who was widely expected to take control of Hezbollah after Nasrallah was killed.

“Now it is our job to continue to put pressure in order to bring about the fruits of that victory,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday during a ceremony at Israel’s foreign ministry.

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Katz added that Israel is not interested in meddling in internal Lebanese politics as Israel has “learned our lessons.” He also said he hoped an international coalition would capitalize on this opportunity, politically, and that Lebanon would join other countries in normalizing relations with Israel.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, before later in the day announcing that Katz would be Gallant’s replacement.

The move came as Israel is engaged in multiple conflicts, fighting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as exchanging long-range blows with Iran.

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IDF troops fight Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)

In later remarks to the media, Gallant said he and Netanyahu disagreed on three issues: the drafting of Haredi men into the army; getting the hostages home; a state commission of inquiry into the intelligence failures prior to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.

Israeli forces launched airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Sunday, again striking the neighborhood where Safieddine was killed last month.

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Hezbollah also launched multiple rockets into northern Israel and claimed credit for a drone attack that damaged Netanyahu’s home.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Reuters contributed to this report.