Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he has issued a stark warning to Lebanon, threatening that Israel will act directly to secure its northern border if Beirut fails to rein in Hezbollah.

“Hezbollah launched heavy barrages toward the State of Israel yesterday. The Israeli army responded forcefully in the southern suburbs of Beirut and against Hezbollah targets across Lebanon,” Katz said during a briefing with senior army officers.

He added that he had personally warned the Lebanese president that if the Lebanese government “does not know how to control the territory and prevent Hezbollah from threatening the northern communities and firing at Israel, we will take the territory and do it ourselves.”

Katz further stated that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “instructed the army to prepare for an expansion of military activity in Lebanon and to restore calm and security to the northern communities.”