Israeli General Staff approves plan for ground operation in Lebanon

The Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Eyal Zamir, has approved a plan to conduct targeted ground operations on Lebanese territory.

“The Chief of the General Staff approved plans yesterday for continued operations in the Northern Command. The operation against the Hezbollah terrorist organization has only begun — at the conclusion of the operation in Iran, Hezbollah will remain alone and isolated. The operation against Hezbollah is a prolonged one, and we are prepared for it,” the IDF stated.

Zamir approved the plans on March 21 in coordination with the General Staff forum, division commanders, and brigade commanders operating in the northern arena. He expressed “great appreciation for the commanders for their actions and the achievements they have attained in recent weeks.”

From the remarks of Eyal Zamir:

“Iran is our primary effort, and the northern arena is an additional central arena. They are interconnected. The Hezbollah terrorist organization is a central proxy of the Iranian terror regime and made a grave mistake when it chose to join the campaign against Israel. This decision harms both the terrorist organization and the State of Lebanon as a whole.

The message is clear: there is no safe haven for the regime and its proxies. Any threat to the civilians of the State of Israel will be met with a determined, precise, and powerful response.

In recent weeks, we have achieved significant accomplishments: we have struck more than 2,000 targets, dozens of weapons storage facilities, and struck and eliminated hundreds of terrorists. The operation against the Hezbollah terrorist organization has only begun — at the conclusion of the operation in Iran, Hezbollah will remain alone and isolated. This is a prolonged operation, and we are prepared for it.

We are now preparing to advance the targeted ground operations and strikes, according to an organized plan. We will not stop until the threat is pushed away from the border and long-term security is ensured for the residents of northern Israel. Alongside the strikes, the IDF is strengthening the forward defense posture in order to protect the residents of northern Israel.

We are prepared for a prolonged operation and will continue to operate as required — both offensively and defensively — in order to ensure the long-term security of the residents of northern Israel.”

By Vafa Guliyeva