Israel Katz demands UK action on Hezbollah arms smuggling and hostage release

Katz to his British counterpart: I expect you to participate in the effort to prevent Hezbollah from arming.

The Minister of Defense spoke today (Thursday) for the first time with the British Secretary of Defense, John Healy. During the conversation between the two, Katz made it clear to his counterpart that, from Israel's perspective, the most important thing right now is the return of the hostages. He also emphasized that he expects Britain to oppose any ceasefire proposal that is not conditioned on the release of the hostages.

On the Lebanese issue, Katz emphasized that Israel responds severely to any violation of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon and will not allow a return to the previous reality – with the aim of creating conditions that will restore a sense of security to the residents of the north.

The minister warned that Iran continues to attempt at every moment to establish new terror fronts against Israel, including an eastern front in Judea and Samaria, and thanked Secretary Hilli for his willingness to cooperate against Iran's attempts to destabilize the region.

Defense Secretary Hilli reiterated his support for Israel's right to defend itself, and Defense Minister Gantz thanked him for his support of Israel and reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening security ties between Israel and Britain.

"We will act with full force against any attempt by Iran to smuggle weapons into Lebanon; we expect Britain to participate in efforts to prevent the arming of Hezbollah."