Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot said Monday that the IDF must remain in the Security Zone in southern Lebanon until significant security arrangements are established, warning against restricting the military's freedom of action against Hezbollah across all of Lebanon. Eisenkot spoke at the Eastern Galilee Conference, hosted by journalist Guy Varon.
Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot delivered a direct security assessment Monday at the Eastern Galilee Conference, hosted by journalist Guy Varon. Eisenkot said the IDF must remain in the Security Zone in southern Lebanon until significant security arrangements are in place, otherwise there will be no security for the northern communities. He specifically warned against a reality in which the IDF's hands are tied in fighting Hezbollah, insisting on operational freedom of action across all of Lebanon. "Otherwise we will be in a situation where drones are operated from north of the Litani against IDF soldiers," he said.
The remarks follow a months-long debate among Israeli security and political figures over the IDF's posture in southern Lebanon. As The Zioneer previously reported, Eisenkot had earlier stated that Israel must demilitarize south Lebanon and disarm Hezbollah, calling any lesser outcome an "abandonment of the north." Other figures, including former Defense Minister Benny Gantz and commentator Hillel Biton Rosen, have similarly called for sustained military presence and expanded rules of engagement. The statements come against the backdrop of continued Hezbollah attacks on IDF troops in the south and ongoing political discussions in Jerusalem over the scope of military operations.
Eisenkot's latest comments frame the IDF's presence as temporary but necessary, pending what he called "significant security arrangements" — a formulation that leaves open the question of when such arrangements could be achieved and whether they would include a diplomatic component.
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