The Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, visited the Northern Command today (Thursday) together with the Commander of the Northern Command, MG Rafi Milo, and additional commanders.
During the visit, the Chief of the General Staff conducted a situational assessment and received an operational briefing on developments in the Northern Command over the past several days.
The Chief of the General Staff instructed that additional troops be reinforced and deployed to the northern sector.
“We are in a multi-front war. We are operating simultaneously against Iran and its proxies and are acting with great determination against the evil regime. Every strike against Iran weakens all of its proxies. The defense against Hezbollah is another main front, not a secondary arena," Zamir stated.
"We make decisions every day, with the central consideration being the security of the state and its civilians. We are acting for the residents of the north and for their security. We will review and learn from the decisions made last night. If there was a mistake, the responsibility is first and foremost mine. We will draw lessons and learn.
"Let there be no confusion - we are fighting absolute evil. Our enemies must not be allowed to weaken our morale. We will continue to act in the north with determination and reinforce the troops. Hezbollah made a serious mistake and will continue to pay a heavy price for it. The Government of Lebanon is not enforcing its authority within its territory - therefore we will do so," he added.
According to the Chief of Staff, "Out of the hundreds of launches fired last night, only two struck Israeli territory - this is a very significant achievement.
"The activity of the Northern Command, the early preparations, and the decisive action led to excellent results: dozens of terrorists were eliminated, most of the missile launchers were thwarted after they fired, and we struck dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites at the heart of terror in Beirut."
He also added that Israel succeeded in locating and striking and eliminating the commander of the Imam Hussein Division and his deputy, along with many of the division’s staff officers. Following the strike in the Dahieh area, many Hezbollah terrorists began fleeing to other hiding places in Beirut, within the civilian population.
"We will continue to defend our civilians everywhere and from everywhere. We reinforced the Northern Command with many hundreds of additional troops and intelligence officers, as well as intelligence collection and fire capabilities. They are achieving remarkable and impressive results, and I have great appreciation for them and their achievements.
"This operation will not be short. We will bring additional troops and capabilities to the north. We will continue to act with great determination. We continue moving forward," Zamir concluded.