IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi stated that the military is persisting with ground maneuvers and systemic fire in Lebanon to deepen damage to Hezbollah, according to a security correspondent. Halevi said every additional operational achievement will accelerate Hezbollah's erosion and improve the security arrangements to be set in U.S.-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi stated this afternoon during a situational assessment in the Northern Command that the military is continuing ground-maneuver operations and systemic fire in Lebanon to strengthen the defense of northern communities and deepen the damage to Hezbollah. According to Asaf Rozentzweig (N12), Halevi said that every additional operational achievement will lead to further erosion of Hezbollah's southern front and improve the security arrangements to be determined in U.S.-mediated negotiations between the political echelon and the Lebanese government.
The remarks come as the IDF maintains sustained operations against Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, including ongoing ground activity in the border area. As The Zioneer reported on June 8, the IDF struck eight towns and villages in southern Lebanon overnight, with ground forces carrying out controlled demolitions in Bint Jbeil, A-Tiri, and Khiam. Dozens more targets were struck over the following days, and the IDF reported on June 11 it had struck more than 70 Hezbollah sites and eliminated seven operatives from an underground route.
Halevi's framing explicitly links military progress on the ground to the political-track outcome — a rare direct statement from the military chief connecting ongoing combat operations with the terms of a future security arrangement. His language of continued erosion suggests the IDF assesses that its current operational tempo is incrementally degrading Hezbollah's capabilities, even without a decisive battlefield breakthrough.
Separately, Arabic-language channel Al-Arabiya reported the assassination of senior Hezbollah operative Ali al-Hajj in a strike in the Dahieh neighborhood of Beirut. The report, which has not been confirmed by the IDF or Hezbollah, would represent a significant escalation in targeting if confirmed, as Dahieh is Hezbollah's dense stronghold in southern Beirut. That reported event is not part of Halevi's statement and is being handled as a separate bulletin.
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