UK condemns Israeli minister over inflammatory Lebanon remarks

UK overseas caput slams Israeli minister’s inflammatory remarks amid determination tensions and fragile ceasefire.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has condemned remarks by Israel’s right-wing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who posted “all of Lebanon indispensable burn” aft 4 Israeli soldiers were killed successful a Hezbollah attack.

In a station connected X connected Friday, Cooper said the comments were “horrendous and abhorrent”.

She was responding to a station by Ben-Gvir who wrote connected X: “For each teardrop of an Israeli mother, a 1000 Lebanese mothers indispensable weep. All of Lebanon indispensable burn! With each owed respect to the Americans, Israel indispensable marque it wide to the full satellite that the humor of our sons and the information of our citizens are not forfeit.”

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He added that Israel “must not retreat from immoderate territory that our fighters person captured” and rejected the bid statement betwixt the US and Iran, saying “Israel is not subordinate to the United States.” He called for Lebanon to beryllium “obliterated”.

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Ben-Gvir’s comments were “not a rant by a random genocidal lunatic” but “a nationalist station by the nationalist information curate of the Israeli regime”.

“The genocidal decease cult headquartered successful Tel Aviv is simply a menace to each of humanity,” Araghchi wrote connected X. “It threatens each humans. Its lone involvement is imperishable war.”

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said connected Friday that forcibly displaced residents of confederate Lebanon would ne'er beryllium allowed to spell backmost home.

“The 200,000 residents surviving successful the information portion volition not return,” helium said. “None of them volition return.”

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper speaks during a virtual acme successful London, UK, April 2, 2026 [Leon Neal/Reuters]

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for “opening the gates of hell” successful Lebanon, repeating connection helium utilized successful March 2025 regarding Gaza.

Since Israel’s violative against Hezbollah began connected March 2, 2026, much than 1.2 cardinal radical person been displaced and much than 1,200 killed successful Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.