Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was reported to be proposing to the Security Cabinet on Monday that Israel strike 20 to 30 buildings in Beirut’s Dahiyeh area for every Iranian missile launched toward Israel.
Dahiyeh is a suburb south of Beirut where Hezbollah has a strong presence. The IDF struck Dahiyeh on Sunday, which Iran used as a trigger to begin launching waves of missiles toward Israel on Sunday evening.
The apparent logic behind Smotrich’s plan is that striking Beirut in this manner could affect Iran’s calculations regarding the regime’s connection to Lebanon.
Additionally, destroying 1,000 to 2,000 buildings in Dahiyeh would strengthen security and create a deterrent for years to come within Lebanon.
Striking Hezbollah is more efficient use of resources, Smotrich argues
“An exchange of fire between Iran and Israel is a more challenging response that requires a three to four hour flight, which is a waste of capacity on a relatively ‘small’ event,” Smotrich said.
“Instead, you have five minutes to respond against Hezbollah targets in Beirut in what would be a ‘creative response,’” he added.