Netanyahu: IDF campaign in Lebanon to continue with ‘force, precision and determination’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the Jewish state would continue to strike Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon with “force, precision and determination.”

“Our message is clear: whoever acts against Israeli civilians will be struck,” Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew. “We will continue to strike Hezbollah wherever required, until we restore full security to the residents of the north.”

U.S. and Israeli officials have stressed that Hezbollahi is not included in the ceasefire agreement with Iran. The regime in Tehran has threatened to blow up the fragile truce over the issue, warning of retaliation for Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

Netanyahu in his statement on Thursday hailed the assassination of Ali Yusuf Harshi, the personal secretary of Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, who the premier described as one of the people closest to the top terrorist.

“At the same time, overnight, the IDF struck a series of terrorist infrastructures in Southern Lebanon: crossings used to transfer thousands of weapons, rockets and launchers, as well as weapons depots, launchers and Hezbollah headquarters,” the prime minister stated.

The Israeli Air Force on Wednesday launched its largest coordinated strikes against Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon since the start of “Operation Roaring Lion” against Iran and its regional proxies on Feb. 28.

The large-scale wave of attacks targeted Hezbollah headquarters, military infrastructure and command-and-control centers in Beirut, the Beqaa Valley and Southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli army.

Netanyahu in an address on Wednesday night said Hezbollah suffered “the greatest blow since the pagers,” in reference to the Sept. 17-18, 2024, attacks in Lebanon, which wounded thousands of terrorist operatives. “We attacked 100 targets in 10 minutes, in places Hezbollah was certain were immune,” he stated.