IDF chief says troops maintain ‘full control’ of south Lebanon buffer zone

By Emanuel Fabian

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11 September 2026, 2:48 pm

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Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir in a video message from Israel's northern border on September 11, 2026. (Screenshot/IDF)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the army will not withdraw from the “Yellow Line” in Lebanon following the demolition of Hezbollah’s tunnels under the Ali Taher Ridge.

“The mission I assigned to the forces was clear: to destroy the infrastructure at the Ali al-Taher Ridge before Rosh Hashanah, and to redeploy in the area. The Yellow Line remains under our full control and unchanged,” he says.

Zamir also says that the Lebanese army “must demonstrate effectiveness on the ground. Otherwise, it will not be possible to advance the agreement signed between the Government of Israel and Lebanon.”