IDF chief says there is ‘no ceasefire’ in south Lebanon as fight against Hezbollah continues

IDF chief says there is ‘no ceasefire’ in south Lebanon as fight against Hezbollah continues

Emanuel Fabian

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says there “is no ceasefire” in southern Lebanon as troops continue to operate against the threat of Hezbollah.

He also says that the IDF “will not tolerate” Hezbollah’s attacks, while adding that Israel will not leave its new security zone until the threat to Israel’s northern communities is removed.

“In Lebanon, the mission assigned to us by the political echelon is to position ourselves along the line to prevent direct fire on the communities. We have achieved this; this is the line we are on. We may be required to remain on it,” Zamir says during a visit this morning to the southern Lebanon town of Taybeh, where troops are deployed.

“We will not tolerate attacks and fire on our communities, and we will not leave until long-term security for the northern communities is ensured,” he says, according to remarks published by the IDF.

Zamir says the IDF is continuing to fight: “We continue fighting and are working to deepen the operational achievements and to protect our forces.”

“On the combat front, there is no ceasefire; you continue to fight, to remove direct and indirect threats from the northern communities, to thwart terror infrastructure, to locate and kill terrorists,” he continues.

“Any threat, anywhere, to our communities or our forces, including beyond the Yellow Line and north of the Litani [River], will be removed. Your mission and duty are to act with freedom of action and remove any threat,” Zamir says.

He says that “at this stage we are not advancing beyond the line, but we will continue to act and remove threats freely.”

“The forces on the ground continue to operate, and there is no restriction on [destroying] infrastructure and killing terrorists,” Zamir adds.

Zamir also says that “Everything defined for us by the political echelon regarding the current campaign in Iran and Lebanon has been achieved and even beyond that.”

“In doing so, we have created the operational conditions for the processes now being led by the political echelon,” he says.