Military authorities in Israel have said Hamas and Hezbollah militants in Gaza and Lebanon will surely remember the lesson of October 8 attack against the Jewish nation.
Israeli Defence Force Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said this in a statement when he visited southern Lebanon with Shin Bet head Ronen Bar on Thursday, where they held a situational assessment with the IDF’s Northern Command chief and the head of the 91st Division.
In remarks to troops at the end of the assessment, Halevi said that Israel will “continue to operate against the enemy, and will not stop until we ensure that we can bring the residents back to safety, not just now but for the future as well.”
“If anyone considers rebuilding these villages again, they’ll know that it’s not worth constructing terrorist infrastructure because the IDF will destroy it again,” he said, referring to the southern Lebanon villages that Israel said have been used as hubs of operation by the Hezbollah terror group, Times of Israel reported.
“Israel is operating across all arenas, both in the Belaa Valley and in Beirut, north and south of the Litani, and all these efforts are working very effectively,” Halevi continued, vowing that the military is “focused” on its work “so that the residents of Israel can celebrate the holidays and live here securely for years to come.”
Speaking also, Bar told troops that the State of Israel “cannot protect its residents from terrorists solely with shopping mall security guards, nor defend against rockets only by building shelters,” but rather, during times of war it must have “freedom of action” to practice defense “on both sides of the border.”
“In the last few years, we have seen Hamas entrench itself in Lebanon, and this will intensify as they move out of Gaza and their focus shifts here,” he said. “We will continue to pursue them everywhere. We will always remember the massacre of October 7, and we will ensure they remember the lesson of October 8.
Meanwhile, Sky News Arabia reports that Hezbollah’s Liason and Coordination Unit chief Wafiq Safa is in critical condition following a rare Israeli airstrike in central Beirut on Thursday evening.
While citing unnamed sources, the report says that Safa “was seriously injured and is in critical condition.”