Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, says Israel must “put an end to the threat of Hezbollah’s explosive drones”, Al Jazeera reports.

He notes the approval of a special budget of approximately 2 billion shekels ($692 million) for technological solutions to address the drone threat earlier this week.

Citing the killing of an Israeli soldier in a Hezbollah drone attack in southern Lebanon, the Religious Zionist Party leader says, “For every explosive drone, 10 buildings must fall in Beirut. The response to a significant threat must be significant.

“You don’t counter a strategic threat with shielding alone, but by changing the rules and the equation. We cannot shield ourselves forever. Only exacting a deterrent and disproportionate price from the enemy will reshape the equation against our foes on all fronts,” he adds in a post on X.