A senior military official in the Northern Command spoke with reserve soldiers in the eastern sector of the Lebanon border and clarified the goals of the operation.
"The expectation is that the war in the north and the efforts to eliminate and strike Hezbollah could continue until the holiday of Shavuot," the military official explained in the closed briefing, the contents of which reached Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth. "Our mission is one - to defend the northern communities and the country's border."
"We will remain here as long as necessary. Our mission is ongoing and not limited to any specific timeframe."
So far, the IDF has advanced between seven and nine kilometers from the border in what is referred to as the "security zone." On Monday morning, the IDF announced that earlier this week, the 91st Division began "targeted ground activity against key objectives in southern Lebanon to expand the forward defensive area."
This is the deepest ground activity so far in that area. During the operation, the forces encountered Hezbollah terrorists and eliminated two of them. According to the IDF, "This activity is part of the effort to establish forward defense, including the destruction of terrorist infrastructure and the elimination of terrorists operating in the area, in order to remove threats and create an additional layer of security for residents of northern Israel."