YONI BEN-MENACHEM -- Senior Israeli officials say that the Lebanese government has so far failed to reduce Hezbollah's influence in an attempt to regain control of the south of the country.
Defense Minister Israel Katz stated this morning: "The maximum enforcement will continue and will also deepen - we will not allow a threat to the residents of the north"
Thomas Barak, the US envoy to Lebanon and Syria, said at a conference in Manama, Bahrain, over the weekend that Hezbollah has a significant force left - about 40,000 fighters alongside between 15 and 20,000 rockets and missiles.
According to him, because Hezbollah's weapons still exist, Israel continues to attack Lebanon every day. Barak called on the Lebanese leadership to act quickly to disarm Hezbollah organizations and noted that "thousands of missiles in southern Lebanon still threaten Israel." According to him, "it makes no sense that there is no dialogue between the two countries - Lebanon has no time to waste."