Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi held a situational assessment at the IDF Headquarters Underground Operations Center Monday evening as the IDF struck hundreds of Hezbollah terrorist sites in Lebanon and Hezbollah launched well over 100 rockets at Israel. Gallant told the soldiers at the operations center, “I would like to express my great appreciation to the IDF - specifically the Air Force, Operations Directorate, Northern Command, Homefront Command, and Intelligence Directorate. The results of your operations are extremely impressive.” “A few weeks ago, we decided to shift the ‘center of gravity’ of our operations, from the southern to the northern arena. Our goal is to ensure the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” Gallant said. He stated, “This past week demonstrates what I have mentioned – over the course of one week, it may be determined that in many ways, Nasrallah remains alone at the top. Radwan forces suffered a fatal blow following the elimination of their top commanders, including regional and brigade commanders, and the staff led by Akil. Entire units were taken out of battle as a result of the activities conducted at the beginning of the week in which numerous terrorists were injured.” Related articles: 'Hezbollah has to be disarmed' 3 suspected members of Hezbollah terror cell arrested Lebanon must act against terror groups within its borders Eliminated Hezbollah terrorist was assisting Hamas “Today is a significant peak – on this day we have taken out of order tens of thousands of rockets and precise munition. What Hezbollah has built over a period of 20 years since the second Lebanon War, is in fact being destroyed by the IDF,” Gallant declared. “This is the most difficult week for Hezbollah since its establishment – the results speak for themselves. A blow has been dealt to the chain of command, to the terrorists themselves on different levels, to their shooting capabilities and to their morale,” the Defense Minister said. “Despite everything I have said, the enemy [Hezbollah] intends to shoot at Israel in various areas across the country. The IDF must provide warning and the citizens of Israel must follow the instructions published by the Homefront Command,” Gallant concluded. Chief of Staff Halevi added, “This morning, the IDF launched a proactive offensive operation. Essentially, we are targeting combat infrastructure that Hezbollah has been building for the past 20 years." "This is very significant. We are striking targets and preparing for the next phases, which I will elaborate on shortly. Ultimately, everything is focused on creating the conditions to return the residents of the north to their homes.” The IDF announced that 1,100 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon had been struck throughout the day on Monday. Fighter jets and aircraft from all air force bases took off and carried out about 650 attack sorties in the last day in order to remove the Hezbollah threat.The aircraft attacked buildings, vehicles and infrastructure in which rockets, missiles, launchers and unmanned aerial vehicles were found which posed a threat and were intended to be used against the State of Israel. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has launched over 120 rockets at Israel in various barrages on Monday. A 23-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel from a rocket attack in the Golan Heights. Red Alert sirens were activated twice in Haifa on Monday afternoon and evening. Sirens were also activated in Acre. Ten long-range rockets were fired at Samaria, activating sirens in multiple Jewish communities.
