Israel’s rapid attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon have left operatives of the Iranian-backed terrorist organization feeling like they are being hunted down, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared on Sunday.
“Hezbollah has begun experiencing the impact of some of the IDF’s capabilities, and they sense that they are being pursued,” Gallant told troops during a visit to an undisclosed Israeli Air Force command-and-control base.
The Israel Defense Forces’ achievements have been “extremely impressive in both defense and offense at all levels,” according to the defense minister.
Attacks on Hezbollah targets across the region “will continue until we reach a situation where we can return the residents of the north to their homes safely—this is our goal, this is our mission, and we will employ the means necessary to achieve it,” Gallant said, according to a readout.
Israel dealt Hezbollah “a series of blows it couldn’t have imagined” over the past days, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in similar remarks published earlier on Sunday afternoon.
“If Hezbollah did not understand the message, I promise you: It will understand the message,” he said in remarks published by his office.
Thousands of terrorists were wounded and at least dozens were killed when their pagers and radio devices exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, with Hezbollah immediately blaming the Jewish state’s intelligence agencies for both attacks.
On Friday, the IDF took credit for a targeted airstrike that killed senior Hezbollah terrorist commander Ibrahim Aqil—alias Al-Hajj Abdul Khader—in the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Hezbollah has attacked Israel nearly daily since Oct. 8, 2023, firing thousands of rockets, missiles and drones. The attacks have killed more than 40 people and caused widespread damage. Tens of thousands of Israelis remain internally displaced due to the ongoing attacks, which wounded several people overnight Saturday and Sunday morning.
In addition, an Israeli teenager died in a car crash on Sunday morning believed to have been caused by a driver distracted by air-raid sirens.