Israel Defense Forces will “expand the campaign” against Hezbollah on its northern border, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Friday, as the IDF carried out several targeted eliminations of enemy commanders over the past few days.
“Israel is turning from defending to pursuing Hezbollah, we will reach wherever the organization operates, in Beirut, Damascus, and in more distant places,” Gallant said after an assessment at the IDF’s Northern Command.
Following alleged Israeli strikes in Syria that reportedly killed dozens, including a senior Hezbollah commander on Friday morning, the IDF later announced it had eliminated the group’s deputy commander of its rocket and missile unit.
Gallant said he observed the strike against Ali Naim, who was killed in an airstrike while driving his car near al-Bazouriye.
Naim was considered a “significant center of knowledge in the organization, a leader in the field of rockets, and among the pioneers of the strategy of launching heavy rockets,” the IDF said.
“As part of his role he worked to plan and carry out attacks against Israel’s home front,” the army added.
“The one responsible for the serious damage in Lebanon is Hezbollah and the one responsible for the many casualties in the Hezbollah group is [Hassan] Nasrallah personally,” Gallant said on Friday.
“They have over 320 killed terrorists, and we will exact a price for any action coming out of Lebanon. Wherever we need to act, we will act,” he vowed.
“Israeli intelligence has been conducting successful operations targeting Hezbollah’s command structures in Lebanon since the beginning of the war,” said Joe Truzman, senior research analyst at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), regarding the strike.
“The strike on Ali Naim not only dealt a blow to the group but also sent a clear message that Israel will retaliate decisively against those who threaten its security,” Truzman added.
Hezbollah and the IDF continued exchanging fire over the weekend, with the Lebanese group claiming responsibility for several attacks, including the launch of a heavy Burkan rocket at an IDF post.
The IDF also announced that fighter jets had struck multiple Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon on Friday and Saturday.
Following rocket launches from Lebanon in the area of Biranit, the IDF struck the responsible rocket launcher quickly with assistance from the 146th Division and the Israeli Air Force.
Netanyahu Reiterates: IDF Forces Will Enter Rafah And Achieve Victory
Israel will defeat Hamas by entering the terrorist stronghold of Rafah in the Gaza Strip and destroying the remaining battalions there, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed Sunday night.
“There is no victory without entering Rafah; there is no victory without destroying the Hamas battalions there,” said Netanyahu in a primetime address, adding that the operation “will take time, but it will happen.”
Netanyahu addressed the nation as the Israel Defense Forces is inching closer to launching a major ground operation targeting the last four Hamas terrorist battalions holed up in Rafah.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in remarks during a visit to the 98th Division’s headquarters on Sunday, vowed to keep fighting until the IDF eliminates or captures “all terrorists, all over the Gaza Strip.”
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