Netanyahu: IDF will exact 'very heavy price' from Hezbollah after deaths of four soldiers

"My directive is clear: Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah for these attacks," Netanyahu wrote in a post on X/Twitter. "The IDF will act to thwart any threat to our forces and our territory."

He also stated that IDF troops would remain in the security zone in Lebanon "for as long as required to protect the settlements in the north."

Avigdor Liberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, called for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to strike Dahiyeh.

"IDF soldiers are not ducks at a shooting range. For every injury to our soldiers, we must exact a heavy price that the other side will not forget."

Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that, in the wake of Hezbollah's repeated violations, the IDF would remain within the security zone in Lebanon.

"On behalf of the entire defense establishment, I send my deepest condolences to the families of the fallen, and I strengthen the wounded and their comrades in arms who continue their mission," he stated.

"We will not allow harm to our soldiers and citizens, and any violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah will be met with great force. The IDF will remain in the security zone in Lebanon, from the coast to the heights of Beaufort, to protect the northern communities, thwart threats, and destroy the terrorist infrastructure in the field - below and above ground."

"With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not forfeit," he wrote in a post on X/Twitter. "Our supreme duty is to protect the citizens of Israel and the soldiers of the IDF, and this commitment takes precedence over every other consideration."

"I told the Prime Minister, even in our private meetings: For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep," he added.

"Enough with the ping-pong. In the Middle East, you don’t win with measured responses and restraint - you need to go berserk. To obliterate. To crush the terror."

"Really? I have no expectations," Davidovich admitted at the beginning of his speech.

"This dissonance between what's happening in Lebanon right now, when we're losing soldiers every day, and what's happening in the center of the country, where they're acting as if we're in another universe, it's just crazy. I don't expect anything from the government because it's incapable of producing anything. The disconnect between the head and the body is complete."

"For every drone that crosses the border, three towers in Dahiya fall. As long as the fire spreads in the settlements on the confrontation line, no one in Lebanon will sleep, neither day nor night. I would have taken down all the systems there."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid also reacted to the four soldiers' deaths, mourning their loss and expressing condolences to their families.

"The heart breaks with the news," he wrote in a post. "Endless pain. I share in the family's grief from the depths of my heart. May their memory be blessed."

President Isaac Herzog said that the fallen soldiers "join a long and anguished list beyond words of daughters and sons who fell in defense of the homeland and the people."

"Together with the entire people of Israel, we embrace the beloved and precious families and send them condolences from the depths of our hearts in this difficult hour. We pray for the healing of the wounded and the safety of all IDF soldiers and security forces. May the memory of our heroes be a blessing," he wrote.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett expressed his condolences as well, saying that "The heart refuses to believe."

"He dedicated his life to protecting all our lives. And paid the most terrible price of all," he wrote about the fallen commander whose name has been released to the public. "I share in the family's heavy grief over this horrific loss. May his memory be a blessing."

Former defense minister Yoav Gallant shared memories of meeting the fallen commander.

"Throughout the war, I met Dor many times during my visits to the Northern Command headquarters, when he served as the Major General's aide-de-camp," he wrote. "I was impressed by his intelligence, determination, and devotion.

"In this difficult hour, my heart and thoughts are with his family, friends, and fighters. May his memory be blessed."

Democrats chairman Yair Golan said that it was "An unbearable hard morning."

"The price of war is unbearable. It is our duty to be worthy of the sacrifice," he wrote.

Blue and White leader MK Benny Gantz expressed his condolences, saying that the IDF soldiers had been killed during the "false ceasefire."

"I wish to send heartfelt condolences to the families of the fallen in their time of such great hardship, and to wish a speedy recovery to the wounded," he wrote.

Democrats MK Rabbi Gilad Kariv also mourned the fallen soldiers, stating that "The heroism of the fighters and our eternal debt to them compel us to also say things as they are."

"The role of the IDF is to win on the battlefield. The role of the government is to translate the IDF's strength into diplomatic moves that will prevent the need to return to the battlefield time and again," he continued.

"We owe this to the soldiers and commanders, to the children and grandchildren of us all."

The IDF announced on Friday that four soldiers were killed while fighting in southern Lebanon, with the commander of the 52nd Battalion, 401st Brigade, Lieutenant-Colonel Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, aged 32, among the fallen troops.

At approximately 00:20, a suspicious object struck a tank belonging to Battalion 52 forces under the Givati Brigade who were operating in the area of the village of Tebnit, the IDF stated.

The incident is under investigation.