Security chiefs: Israel will stop terror groups reestablishing presence near Lebanon border
Lebanese PM calls for UN to demand immediate ceasefire, claims Hezbollah now willing to accept previous resolution barring it from southern Lebanon
Israel’s security chiefs vowed in remarks published Friday that Israel will push on with its offensive in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is pushed away from the border and would continue to act there in the future if it sees terror groups trying to reestablish a presence along the Israeli frontier.
At a Thursday night security assessment in the field in southern Lebanon, alongside Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi vowed, “We will continue to fight the enemy, and we will not stop” until the displaced residents of Israel’s north have long-term security.”
The comments were published as Israel continued striking at Hezbollah’s senior leaders and pushed more troops into the operation that Israel says is aimed at destroying Hezbollah’s ability to wage war across the border and attack Israeli communities.
It also came as Lebanon urged the UN to demand an “immediate” ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and indicated that Hezbollah was prepared to accept a deal that would limit its role in southern Lebanon.
“We are working on all fronts, both in the Beqaa Valley and in Beirut; north of the Litani River and south of the Litani River,” Halevi told soldiers, in a video of the meeting that was published by the IDF on Friday.
“If someone comes to build up these villages again, he’ll say it’s not worthwhile to rebuild terror infrastructure, because [in that case] the IDF will destroy the village again,” Halevi said.
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar added: “The State of Israel can’t protect its residents from terrorists just using security guards at the mall, or from missiles just using protected rooms. It must be in the terrorists’ own dens and on their production lines.”
“Therefore, for a border of peace — [there has to be] defense on both sides of the border, with freedom to operate. In recent years we’ve seen Hamas establish itself in Lebanon. That will increase because they’re leaving Gaza and the investment will be here. We will continue to pursue them everywhere,” he said.
“We will always remember the massacre of October 7, and we will ensure they remember the lesson of October 8,” Bar said.
Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and increasing rocket and missile fire by the terror group.
In Lebanon, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a televised address that the foreign ministry would ask the UN Security Council to issue a resolution calling for a “full and immediate ceasefire.”
He said his government was committed to “the full application of Resolution 1701,” which was adopted in 2006 and called for the Lebanese army and peacekeepers to be the only armed forces deployed in the south of the country.
Lebanon is committed to “the deployment of the army in the south and the bolstering of its presence along the border,” he said.
“Hezbollah is in agreement on this issue,” he added — though the group has yet to comment on his speech.
Iran-backed Hezbollah is heavily armed and controls large swathes of Lebanon, and successive Lebanese governments have failed to subdue it and peacekeepers have also failed to enforce Resolution 1701.
Israel meanwhile continued to target Hezbollah.
An Israeli airstrike killed the commander of an anti-tank missile unit within the Hezbollah terror group’s elite Radwan forces on Friday, the military said in a statement, including a video of the strike.
According to the IDF, Ghareeb Alshuja’a had overseen the firing of anti-tank missiles toward the Ramot Naftali area.
An airstrike targeting Alshuja’a was carried out in the Meiss Ej-Jabal area, in coordination with troops of the IDF’s 91st Division, the military said.
In addition, over the last day, IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon uncovered and destroyed rocket launchers aimed at Israel, and several gunmen were eliminated while operating in a building close to where Israeli forces were located, the military said.
It added that the Israeli Air Force also carried out multiple strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon over the last day, including weapons warehouses, an observation post and rocket launchers.
מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר, תקפו וחיסלו בהכוונת חטיבת האש של אוגדה 91, מפקד במערך הנ"ט של רדואן במרחב מיס אל ג'בל בארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, המחבל ע'ריב אלשג'אע שהיה אחראי על מתווי ירי נ"ט רבים לעבר מרחב רמות נפתלי>> pic.twitter.com/zpiQVE9ADQ
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 11, 2024
The IDF also sent another brigade into southern Lebanon on Friday, and said in a statement that it had already destroyed Hezbollah tunnels, prepared defensive positions, and other enemy infrastructure.
The 205th Reserve Armored Brigade “eliminated a number of terrorists and destroyed dozens of terrorist targets from the air, from the ground and with artillery,” according to the IDF.
The 205th Reserve Armored Brigade begins its operations in southern Lebanon.
(video from IDF Spokesperson) pic.twitter.com/XFfRQ1mtXC
— Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) October 11, 2024
Hezbollah also continued to fire into Israel.
A 27-year-old foreign worker was killed by unexploded ordnance, and another person was wounded, in the northern community of Kibbutz Yir’on in the Upper Galilee on Friday. The ordnance’s origin was not immediately clear.
The worker’s death was originally reported as the result of an anti-tank missile attack, but the IDF later issued a statement, saying the results of its preliminary investigation indicated the explanation of an unexploded ordnance instead.
Also Friday, around 8:30 a.m., a barrage of some 25 rockets was launched at Israel from Lebanon, triggering sirens in Acre and surrounding communities.
Some of the rockets were intercepted, and others fell in open areas, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
One rocket appeared to have impacted in the Kiryat Bialik Industrial Zone, causing minor damage but no injuries.
Another rocket was fired in a separate launch toward Kiryat Shmona, and fell in the area, the IDF said.
A fire broke out near Kibbutz Snir in the Upper Galilee as a result of a rocket attack. Firefighters were on the scene.
Also Friday morning, the Israeli Air Force intercepted two unmanned aerial vehicles launched toward Israel from Lebanon. The UAVs did not cross into Israeli territory, and as such, no sirens were activated, the military said.
Residents of several communities in northern Israel were instructed Friday morning to remain indoors due to a suspected terrorist infiltration.
The orders applied to residents of Rehaniya, Kerem Ben Zimra, Dalton and Kadita.
Security forces searched the area and, finding nothing, rescinded the order.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
The attacks on northern Israel over the last year have resulted in the deaths of 28 civilians. In addition, 33 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.
Two soldiers have been killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 516 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. Another 94 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
These numbers have not been consistently updated since Israel began a new offensive against Hezbollah in September, including a ground operation in which the military says at least 450 Hezbollah operatives have been killed.
The IDF’s toll in the ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and during operations on the border stands at 11.