Defense Minister Amir Peretz warned that the military operations in Lebanon would not cease until the army controls southern Lebanon.
Peretz said that Israel will make it impossible for Hizballah to return to their positions along the Lebanese border. According to the defense minister, "This operation is intended to prevent unequivocally Hizballah's access to the northern border. Lebanese forces are the ones who need to sit there and we expect them to deploy on Israel's border. We will not allow Hizballah to sit on our border."
Peretz, referring to the recent katyusha rocket attacks on the north, and the threat of attacks deeper into the Israeli home front, said that terror organizations base their operations on the supposed weakness of the Israeli home front and as such, they made a decision to create the last possible provocation. “Lebanon is paying the price for small-mindedness,” he said.