Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, head of the Israel Defense Forces’s Northern Command, spoke hours before the city of Kiryat Shmona was hit in an attack after drone warning sirens were heard in the area. It was not immediately clear what impacted the city, with police saying damage was caused to property, but there were no injuries.
The restive border region has been hounded by a stream of rocket, missile and drone strikes for the last eight months, leading to the displacements of tens of thousands of residents.
“Hezbollah has suffered severe blows. About 420 terrorists and senior operatives were eliminated,” Gordin said at a ceremony marking 18 years since the Second Lebanon War, the last major military engagement between Israel and Hezbollah.
Gordin said Hezbollah terror infrastructure built up over years had been destroyed in Israeli counterstrikes since the terror group began lobbing rockets and other projectiles at the north on October 8.
“We have been doing this for eight months, with the understanding that this time too, like 18 years ago, we have no choice but to continue fighting, together, until the mission is completed,” he said.
Gordin said the IDF had last week completed preparations for a campaign against Hezbollah, and that troops were training for the fight.
“We are prepared and ready, and when we will be ordered, the enemy will meet a strong and ready army,” he said.
The IDF earlier said it carried out a strike against two Hezbollah operatives, and the group announced that one member was killed. The army also announced strikes on other Hezbollah buildings. READ MORE