The real victory against Hezbollah will be the return of residents to northern Israel, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Sunday during a situational assessment in Southern Lebanon.
“To truly defeat Hezbollah—because militarily, we have already won, and our victory is very clear—to truly win, to achieve long-term victory, will be to have many residents living here [northern Israel], vast tourism, to reopen the restaurants and cafés that used to be here, to have people coming to cycle, agriculture flourishing—everything thriving. This is long-term victory. And the state must step in and strongly reinforce this responsibility,” the general said.
Halevi was joined by OC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin; the commander of the 146th Reserve Armored Division, Brig. Gen. Yiftach Norkin; the commander of the 300th “Bar’am” Brigade, Col. Omri Rosenkrantz; and other senior officers.
Later on Sunday, the chief of staff visited wounded soldiers at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan for a Chanukah candle-lighting.
“A year ago, we were here with very difficult emotions …, but we have come a long way thanks to the bravery of soldiers who fought valiantly. We see what is happening to our enemies. Thanks to your heroism they are going backwards,” Ynet quoted Halevi telling the troops.
“This is a long war and I can’t say we’re seeing it ending, but after heavy prices that we paid we are also seeing results—Hamas’s military wing is defeated. Hezbollah is completely defeated. … We are in a better security situation in the Golan Heights. We are fighting terrorist infrastructures day and night with great success. We are fighting on all borders and carry out activities in locations very distant from the State of Israel as well,” he said.
Halevi praised Israel’s health system, saying that what is happening in the country is “unique. The entire country contributes to saving the wounded: Starting with the soldier in the field who places the tourniquet on a wounded soldier, through the rescue team that operates under fire, the Unit 669 [heliborne combat search and rescue extraction unit] and the Air Force that valiantly arrives at any location—and ending with hospitals that are always ready to receive the wounded.”
Nearly 70,000 residents of northern Israel were internally displaced due to the cross-border attacks from Iran’s Lebanese terrorist proxy, which began firing missile, rockets, mortar shells and drones at Israel the day after the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
A 60-day ceasefire went into effect on Nov. 27. Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, Israeli forces are to withdraw gradually from the country.
Hezbollah must retreat north of the Litani River, about 20 miles north of the border, while the Lebanese Armed Forces deploy along the 75-mile frontier, along with monitors from the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
During “Operation Northern Arrows,” the Israeli military’s name for the northern war, 45 Israeli civilians and 79 IDF soldiers have been killed, according to data from the Alma Research and Education Center, which monitors the northern fronts.
Israeli authorities estimate property damage to exceed $273 million, according to Reuters.