Minister of Defense Israel Katz visited the Northern Command this morning (Monday), together with the Command’s head, Major General Rafi Milo; the Northern Corps commander, Major General Yaki Dolf; the Deputy Commander of Northern Command, Major General (res.) Moti Baruch; the Military Secretary to the Minister of Defense, Brigadier General Guy Markizano; the commander of Division 210, Brigadier General Yair Peli; the commander of Division 91, Brigadier General Yuval Gaz; the commander of Division 162, Brigadier General Sagiv Dahan; the commander of Division 146, Brigadier General Beni Aharon; the commander of the Northern Naval Arena, Brigadier General A.; the Chief of Staff of Northern Command, Brigadier General Uri Dauba; and additional commanders.
During the visit, the Minister of Defense was briefed that approximately 650,000 residents evacuated from Dahieh, and another roughly half a million from southern Lebanon. In addition, the minister was briefed on the elimination of the commander of Hezbollah’s Nasser Unit, Abu Hussein Ra’b, during an IDF strike earlier in the night.
Minister of Defense Israel Katz stated: “I am happy to be here. I see the determination, I know the capabilities - through you and down to the very last soldier. I am sure the motivation is very high, as you say. They understand that they are defending the State of Israel here, defending the communities. They see it - and they are also going to do it."
"The decision to move forward immediately and defend the communities is a decision that is morally correct and operationally correct, and it also enables what comes next. It gives confidence to the communities that what happened will not return," Katz said.
He continued: "There will be no evacuation, no abandonment. Everyone remains on their land, in their home, wherever they are. This is the number one mission - to defend the communities and give them security against raids and against anti-tank fire."
"From this point, we certainly must not only refrain from withdrawing in the face of Hezbollah, but take advantage of the opportunity to strike it," he said. "We are striking it and we will strike it. Prepare the operational plans in order to strike and exact a price from it and thwart its capabilities," he said.
"The fact that one million Lebanese have evacuated their homes in southern Lebanon and in Dahieh indicates the strength of the IDF and the deterrence capability of the IDF. This must be used to thwart threats that we have not yet managed to thwart previously, to make this area even safer than before Operation ‘Roar of the Lion,’ which should end with the security situation being even better for the communities.
"The government of Lebanon is not the UN. It took responsibility, it signed agreements, and it must stand by them. It committed to disarming Hezbollah, and it must act to do so. We now see that they have not met their commitments - neither they nor the Lebanese army. They allowed Hezbollah to move south and did not prevent these things, and the conclusion is always that what we do not do, no one else will do. They are obligated and they must act, and we must ensure that these things happen. I truly wish all of us success - to meet the missions and come out stronger. We have an opportunity to bring very, very great security," Minister Katz concluded.