Israel Katz, Israel’s minister of defense, visited the Israel Defense Forces Northern Command on Monday, when he emphasized that Hezbollah’s attack had opened up an opportunity for Israel to strike the Lebanese-based terrorist organization to “exact a price from it” and restore “great security” to Israel’s north.
He expressed the view that Israel must end its current military campaign against Hezbollah so that afterward, Israel’s northern communities are in a better security situation than they were at the start.
Katz was briefed on the elimination of the commander of Hezbollah’s Nasser Unit, Abu Hussein Ra’b, during an IDF strike overnight.
“The decision to move forward immediately and defend the communities is a decision that is morally correct and operationally correct, and it also enables what comes next,” Katz said. “It gives confidence to the communities that what happened will not return.”
Tens of thousands of Israelis from the north were internally displaced for months following the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Hezbollah started firing rockets a day later, on Oct. 8, in a two-progoned asault against the Jewish state.
“There will be no evacuation, no abandonment,” Katz stated. “Everyone remains on their land, in their home, wherever they are. This is the No. 1 mission—to defend the communities and give them security against raids and against anti-tank fire.”
The evacuation of 1 million Lebanese from their homes in Southern Lebanon and the Beirut neighborhood of Dahieh shows the strength of the IDF and its deterrence capability, he said.
Katz faulted Lebanon’s government for not standing by its agreement to disarm Hezbollah. “We now see that they have not met their commitments, neither they nor the Lebanese army. They allowed Hezbollah to move south and did not prevent these things,” he said. “The conclusion is always that what we do not do, no one else will do.”
Accompanying Katz on his tour of the northern border were high-ranking officers such as Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, head of the IDF Northern Command; and Maj. Gen. (res.) Moti Baruch, deputy commander of Northern Command; and Maj. Gen. Yaki Dolf, commander of the Northern Corps.
