IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari
IDF Spokesperson Daniel HagariIDF Spokesperson's Unit

IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari delivered a statement this evening (Wednesday) on the ceasefire that went into effect in Lebanon this morning and summarized the IDF's achievements against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.

"Early this morning, the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon came into effect, as approved by Israel’s Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, and the Cabinet. The IDF's mission is to enforce the agreement – the IDF is operating determinedly – any violation of the ceasefire will be met with fire," Hagari began.

He noted, "IDF soldiers are still positioned in southern Lebanon, in villages and areas from which the forces will gradually withdraw in accordance with the agreement. IAF aircraft continue to fly in Lebanese airspace, gathering intelligence and are prepared to act wherever necessary. In the coming weeks, we will reshape the defensive and security areas and implement lessons learned from the past."

"Throughout the day, our forces have operated to enforce the ceasefire agreement, identified suspects approaching restricted areas, detained them, and fired warning shots," Hagari said. "We have also eliminated terrorists today."

"IDF forces are positioned in various areas in southern Lebanon. Residents of southern Lebanon, pay close attention to this map. We are present and operating in the area. The presence of armed operatives in the region constitutes a violation (of the agreement), and any armed operative will be neutralized or apprehended," he said.

Hagari said, "Today, we have enforced violations in the field, eliminating Hezbollah operatives. We apprehended suspects in the village of Tir Harfah and are currently interrogating them. Additionally, we will not permit movement by vehicles to the area during the night. Residents of Lebanon, as you have seen throughout the war, we do what we say. For your protection, we call on you not to approach the area where our forces are positioned. The ceasefire agreement is structured to be gradual, and we will update you when it is safe to return to the area."

"Over the past year, our forces conducted five major operational efforts against Hezbollah, the murderous terrorist organization that has dragged Lebanon to the place it finds itself in today. We degraded Hezbollah’s launch capabilities, struck its strategic assets, eliminated its leadership, and damaged its command and control chain. We have also targeted its ability to rearm and resupply, and we have severely disrupted its ability to carry out its planned infiltration into our territory, a plan it had meticulously prepared to carry out on the day of command," he added.

"The IDF operated against Hezbollah according to a structured plan, taking advantage of operational opportunities, using different tactics, demonstrating courage and conducting strikes throughout the entirety of Lebanon and the Middle East," he said. "We have significantly weakened Hezbollah and dealt it a very severe blow – we’ve damaged the threat it has built over many years against the State of Israel and its citizens."

The IDF Spokesman also noted that "Hezbollah is also an Iranian strategic project, in which the leadership of Iran has invested substantial resources, money, weapons, and manpower over the years. Iran's leadership has lost a strategic asset right next to our border."

"We have targeted the rocket threat by raiding Hezbollah's terrorist assets. We located thousands of rockets and destroyed them during both ground and aerial operations. Just today, we identified and collected weapons from one of the villages where our forces are still operating. We have targeted and struck Hezbollah's strategic capabilities, including its naval missiles, weapon manufacturing capabilities, and aerial unit responsible for launching UAVs into Israeli territory. Yesterday, we eliminated the Head of Operations of Hezbollah’s Aerial Unit in a strike in Dahieh. During the course of the war, we destroyed approximately 70% of the UAV stockpile held by the unit," he said.

He added, "During the night, in the hours before the ceasefire agreement went into effect, we struck around 180 targets across Lebanon. One of the targets we attacked was a central Hezbollah missile production site in Lebanon, near the Syrian border. This is a site we have been monitoring for a long time. In the illustration here, you can see the production site, which is located underground, within a sprawling underground facility that stretches over a kilometer and a half and is divided into multiple rooms. Each room produces a different component of precision missiles and surface-to-surface missiles. This site is located near the Syrian border, and through it, weapons and critical components for the production process were smuggled. We struck the production equipment at the site and the weapons stored there. This is a strategic asset of Hezbollah. Near this site, we also struck a compound of Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces, where dozens of operatives were eliminated along with weapons."

"In addition, yesterday we targeted a crossing where we identified an attempt to transfer weapons from Syria to Hezbollah. This strike is part of the overall effort throughout the war to target Hezbollah's Unit 4400 and the terrorist organization’s economic infrastructure. We have also targeted, in Syria, all attempts to transfer weapons to Hezbollah. If we identify intentions to transfer weapons to the organization, we will operate," he said.

"The IDF's operations in Lebanon were strong, planned, and included tactics and courageous operational activities, some of which were covert and have yet to be revealed. All of this was aimed at ensuring the safety of the residents of northern Israel, who have been displaced from their homes for over a year, they lived under the threat of rocketfire, and it is our duty to return them (to their homes) safely. We will enforce the ceasefire agreement with determination, and we are also preparing for the possibility of returning to intense combat and making the necessary preparations for that," Hagari said.

Moving to other arena, Hagari stated, "Our forces continue to operate in Gaza, Judea and Samaria and more distant arenas."

"The 101 hostages are always front and center for us, brutally held by Hamas for 418 days, far from their families, in inhumane conditions. We are committed to bringing them home. This is an urgent mission, and we will continue to operate to create the conditions necessary to achieve this objective and all objectives of the war, across all arenas, for the security of Israel’s civilians, the IDF Spokesman concluded.