Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich says Israel should annex south Lebanon and advance to Beirut if Hezbollah attacks again

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel should annex territory in southern Lebanon up to its current military lines and push as far as Beirut if Hezbollah launches another attack.

“In Lebanon, we should annex at least up to the lines where we are positioned today,” Smotrich said. “And if Hezbollah attacks again, then all the way to Beirut. And if it attacks again, then even beyond that.”

Smotrich argued that Israel’s northern border is not defensible because Israeli communities sit below higher ground held by Hezbollah, and said Israel should explain to U.S. President Donald Trump that it needs “defensible borders.”

On Egypt, Smotrich repeated his warning that Cairo should understand another attack on Israel could cost it the Sinai Peninsula. He said President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s recent declaration that Egypt has no territorial ambitions and does not seek war with Israel did not reassure him.

Smotrich also said Israel should maintain control over Gaza and gradually encourage Palestinians there to leave, arguing that the population had been educated to hate Israel. He said he preferred to describe the policy internationally as resolving and rehabilitating the Palestinian refugee problem in Arab countries and elsewhere.

He rejected accusations that Israel was pursuing imperial expansion, saying Israel had entered wars because it had “no choice.”

Smotrich also raised concerns about Türkiye, saying he was not confident that a successor to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would be less hostile to Israel. He cited Türkiye’s large navy and said Israel must prepare flexible military capabilities against a range of potential regional threats.

He described Erdoğan’s close relationship with Trump as a challenge but said Israel was working to prevent agreements that could weaken its qualitative military edge.

On defense production, Smotrich pointed to Israel’s Arrow missile-defense deal with Germany and said stronger domestic production was essential for Israel to sustain a prolonged war independently.

Smotrich also criticized what he called Trump’s “quantum diplomacy,” saying the U.S. president can maintain close relations simultaneously with Israel and countries Israel views as major threats. Still, he said he wanted Trump and the Republican Party to remain politically strong because he viewed Trump as highly supportive of Israel.

On Saudi Arabia, Smotrich said Israel should not give Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman concessions without receiving something in return, adding that he believed Israel was already giving Riyadh benefits he considered a mistake.