IDF says ‘extensive’ cleanup operation of northern communities underway, working for safe return of residents

The military announces that it is “in the midst of an extensive operation to clear and clean northern communities” that have been damaged during the conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The military says in a statement that “the operation involves engineering teams and additional forces deployed in over 40 communities in northern Israel,” and that “the forces are clearing military equipment, cleaning waste, and removing unexploded ordnance” from the communities.

The statement adds that the military and the local authorities “have been working for over a year to create the conditions for the safe return of residents to their homes, with an emphasis on managing daily life in a safe environment.”

Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and almost-daily rocket fire by the terror group since October 8.

Since the ceasefire came into effect at the end of November, the communities have begun rebuilding and repairing damage from the Hezbollah attacks.