IDF chief, Shin Bet head visit south Lebanon, vow Hamas and Hezbollah will ‘remember the lesson of October 8’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi visited southern Lebanon with Shin Bet head Ronen Bar on Thursday, the military says in a statement, where they held a situational assessment with the IDF’s Northern Command chief and the head of the 91st Division.

In remarks to troops at the end of the assessment, Halevi said that Israel will “continue to operate against the enemy,  and will not stop until we ensure that we can bring the residents back to safety, not just now but for the future as well.”

“If anyone considers rebuilding these villages again, they’ll know that it’s not worth constructing terrorist infrastructure because the IDF will destroy it again,” he said, referring to the southern Lebanon villages that Israel says have been used as hubs of operation by the Hezbollah terror group.

“Israel is operating across all arenas, both in the Belaa Valley and in Beirut, north and south of the Litani, and all these efforts are working very effectively,” Halevi continued, vowing that the military is “focused” on its work “so that the residents of Israel can celebrate the holidays and live here securely for years to come.”

Following on from Halevi, Bar told troops that the State of Israel “cannot protect its residents from terrorists solely with shopping mall security guards, nor defend against rockets only by building shelters,” but rather, during times of war it must have “freedom of action” to practice defense “on both sides of the border.”

“In the last few years, we have seen Hamas entrench itself in Lebanon, and this will intensify as they move out of Gaza and their focus shifts here,” he said. “We will continue to pursue them everywhere. We will always remember the massacre of October 7, and we will ensure they remember the lesson of October 8.”