The Israel Defense Forces will maintain its security zone in the country’s south until “long-term security is ensured,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Wednesday.
“We have established a security zone and are clearing it of terrorist infrastructure—these are areas from which the Hezbollah terrorist organization prepared, threatened and operated against the communities in northern Israel,” Zamir said during a visit to ground troops in Lebanon. “If required, we will deepen our operations and reach additional areas,” he added.
Zamir told soldiers that the IDF would continue to “maintain a forward defense posture wherever there is a direct threat to our communities and to Israeli civilians.”
“We are operating inside Lebanon, in Syria, in Gaza, in Judea and Samaria and in additional arenas,” the military chief noted.
“Our multi-arena operation has not yet ended, and you must be prepared for it to continue. We are prepared for any change in the situation and ready for a wide range of scenarios. You must remain alert and ready to adapt quickly, act rapidly, and be prepared to intensify the damage inflicted on the enemy,” he said.
Zamir also pointed to Jerusalem’s recent campaign against Iran, saying the IDF knew how to build on those achievements “if need be.”
“There is no mission the IDF has been assigned that it has failed to accomplish, in any arena,” he declared.
The remarks came hours after Hezbollah terrorists launched an explosive drone at an Israeli engineering vehicle in Southern Lebanon, in what the IDF described as a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire deal with Beirut.
The IDF said no soldiers were injured in the attack, which took place near the Ali al-Taher Ridge inside the Israeli-controlled security zone.
