IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Wednesday that there had been a “profound shift” in Israel’s national security concept in the aftermath of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 massacre.
During a tour of Israel’s northern front, including Southern Lebanon, where the IDF has maintained a limited deployment since September 2024, Zamir said that Israel’s policy was “no longer containment and waiting, but the use of force in pursuit of contact.” There is also a new understanding among Israel’s security forces “that neutralizing the threat also requires striking at its sources,” he added.
Zamir was joined on his tour of Southern Lebanon by 91st Division Commander Brig. Gen. Yuval Gaz and other senior officers, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. He met with both active-duty and reserve troops deployed in the area.
“Thanks to your actions, the operational achievements have been preserved, enabling the continued protection of northern communities. The reason we are here today is because we changed the security reality in the northern arena,” he said.
Zamir stressed that the IDF’s current posture was proactive, with forces striking targets and thwarting threats across multiple fronts, including Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Judea and Samaria, and in monitoring developments in Iran.
Since the Nov. 26, 2024 ceasefire that ended a year of hostilities sparked when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, the IDF had killed over 240 Hezbollah terrorists in 600 airstrikes, mostly south of the Litani River, he noted.
These “enforcement actions” were “unprecedented,” he added.
“We are in the midst of a multi-arena war, adapting concepts to the threats. We are in all the arenas—launching strikes, all on our own initiative,” he said.
He noted that the army had approved new plans on Wednesday morning to achieve full operational control of Gaza City.
“Our central mission is to safeguard the security of the state, protect civilians and defend the northern communities. We will not go backwards,” he said. “We are operating according to a new strategic concept—we will not allow threats to grow.”
