IDF bombs Beirut for 6th consecutive day

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday there would be "no cease-fire" and "no respite" in Lebanon despite an ongoing diplomatic push to end Israel's campaign against Hezbollah in the country.

Katz said the offensive against Hezbollah -- and the killing of its former leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in September -- "are a picture of victory and the offensive activity should be continued" to further erode Hezbollah capabilities "and realize the fruits of victory."

"We will continue to hit Hezbollah with full force until the goals of the war are achieved," Katz said in a post to X.

"Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee Israel's right" to "prevent terrorism on its own," Katz continued, demanding the disarming of Hezbollah, the group's withdrawal north of the Litani River and the return of Israeli communities to their homes in the north of the country.

Katz was appointed to head the Defense Ministry earlier this month. He replaced Yoav Gallant, who had emerged as a top critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's prosecution of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Katz was previously Israel's foreign minister.

Seven people were killed and another seven injured after an Israeli strike on Al-Saksakieh in southern Lebanon Monday evening local time, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

Search and rescue teams are working to find missing people under the rubble, Lebanese national media reported.

The Israeli Defense Forces issued a warning to residents of 21 villages in southern Lebanon telling them to evacuate their homes immediately Monday evening local time.

-ABC News Ghazi Balkiz

Israel's far-right finance minister said he wants Israel to extend sovereignty to the West Bank in 2025 and believes U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will "support the State of Israel in this move."

"In the first term, President Trump led dramatic moves, including the transfer of the American embassy to Jerusalem and the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel, recognition of the Golan Heights, and the decision on the legality and legitimacy of the settlements in Judea and Samaria, along with the Abraham agreements of peace for peace," Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in remarks on Monday.

Smotrich, who has called for Israeli sovereignty in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for years, also said he has directed staff to begin "work to prepare the necessary infrastructure for the application of sovereignty" to the West Bank.

-ABC News' Dana Savir

The Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah fired at least 75 projectiles into Israel on Monday.

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said it treated three people with shrapnel injuries in the area of Karmiel in northern Israel. Two other people were treated for shrapnel injuries in the Krayot area, the MDA said.

Hezbollah claimed several rocket and drone attacks on Monday.

Among the strikes was a "large rocket salvo" targeting a paratrooper training base in Karmiel settlement, Hezbollah said in a statement.

-ABC News' Dana Savir and Ghazi Balkiz