Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Sunday that he had approved “plans for the continuation of the combat in [Lebanon]” as the military is “determined to deepen the blow against Hezbollah across all of its terror systems.”
Zamir spoke during a situational assessment held at IDF Northern Command headquarters in Safed together with the General Staff Forum, the army said in a statement.
The IDF will maintain readiness and operational flexibility “for as long as required,” the military chief emphasized.
He hailed the soldiers operating in the north, saying they have his “full confidence,” adding that “the security of the residents and the security of our troops are above all else. Everywhere you operated, you left behind a battered and beaten enemy fighting for its survival.”
Zamir stressed that the IDF is monitoring regional developments and “is prepared to resume intense combat operations immediately and to further weaken the Iranian terror regime and its capabilities,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reported.
“Our mission is clear: to thwart every enemy, dismantle terrorist infrastructure, and serve as a front-line defense for the communities of the north. We are operating to ensure and strengthen the security of the residents of the north. The damage inflicted on the Hezbollah terrorist organization is systematic and consistent. We continue to strike and eliminate Hezbollah terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure, which threaten the residents of the north and our troops,” Zamir said.
After the situational assessment, the military chief paid a visit to the headquarters of the 401st “Iron Tracks” Armored Brigade, met with its acting commander, Col. (res.) H., and spoke with its commanders and troops, the military noted.
The brigade’s commander, Col. Meir Biderman, was severely wounded last week from a direct hit by a Hezbollah explosive drone in Southern Lebanon.
Zamir expressed his appreciation to the commanders and troops on the scene and sent wishes for a speedy recovery and return to duty to the brigade commander.
“There is no power in the world comparable to the courage of our troops; the spirit of commanders leading from the front is what guides them,” he was quoted as saying.
“As demonstrated by the former commander of the 401st Brigade, Col. Ahsan Daksa, and now by Col. Meir Biderman …, the 401st Brigade is a brigade made up of strong people with tremendous spirit. It is a brigade with both a distant and recent history that has never been broken,” Zamir said.
