Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the “extremist arm of the Iranian octopus,” will pay a “heavy price” for its ongoing attacks on the Jewish state, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Sunday.
“Overnight, we operated against Iranian Quds Force commanders in Lebanon, in Beirut, and targeted them. I tell you that there is no safe place for the Iranian axis of evil anywhere in the Middle East—not in Beirut and not anywhere else,” Zamir told soldiers during a visit to Home Front Command headquarters in Ramle.
The IDF identified the slain operatives as Majid Hassini, responsible for funding Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist groups; Ali Reza Bi-Azar, head of intelligence for the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps; and Ahmad Rasouli, an intelligence officer of the Quds Force’s Palestine Corps.
The chief of staff noted that there had been “significant” rocket and UAV attacks targeting northern Israeli towns. He added, “There was also an incident during the night,” referencing the deaths of two soldiers.
The Combat Engineering Corps’ Sgt. 1st Class Maher Khatar and another soldier, whose name had not yet been released for publication, were reportedly killed by mortar fire or an anti-tank missile in Lebanon.
“I wish to send my condolences to the families of the fallen and wish a speedy recovery to our wounded,” Zamir said during the Sunday visit.
“Hezbollah is an extremist arm of the Iranian octopus. It’s paying, and will continue to pay, a heavy price,” the IDF chief of staff warned.
The Jewish state “has been in a prolonged state of emergency for the past two years,” Zamir noted. “What we need right now, above all, is persistence and patience. This will take considerable time, you must be prepared for that, and however long it takes, it will take.
“This is the war of our generation. It is a critical war, a decisive war. This war will determine our future and our security here for many years to come,” he concluded.
The Israel Defense Forces struck more than 100 Hezbollah terrorist targets throughout Lebanon on Sunday, including a Beirut compound used by the Iranian-backed organization’s elite Radwan Force, the army said.
The compound in the capital’s southern suburbs of Dahieh was being used as a command center and training facility to target Israeli soldiers and civilians, the IDF said.
