During a tour of the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Hezbollah is now counting on its Iranian patron to rescue it, and called on the Lebanese military to fulfill its commitment to clear the area of terrorist infrastructure.
On Sunday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, during a tour of the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon, said Hezbollah is now relying on its Iranian patron to rescue it and called on the Lebanese army to fulfill its commitment to clear the area of terrorist infrastructure. The comments, first reported by The Zioneer at 14:59 Jerusalem, were part of a series of statements from the same visit that included characterizing Hezbollah as 'exhausted and defeated' and warning of a rapid Israeli offensive if the ceasefire is violated.
As The Zioneer previously reported, earlier in the tour at 14:59 Jerusalem, Zamir said the Beaufort Ridge is 'saturated with terror infrastructure' and that Israeli forces now control key areas both above and below ground, including an underground tunnel network built over decades with Iranian funding. He also praised the 36th Division for crossing the Litani River and surprising the enemy. The sequence of statements underscores the IDF's escalating pressure on Hezbollah and the Lebanese state to enforce ceasefire terms.
The Zioneer has reported on the wider context of Hezbollah's Iranian backing. An Iranian official was cited on Sun Jun 14, 17:41 Jerusalem stating that Tehran must rein in Hezbollah, indicating internal Iranian debate. The Lebanese foreign minister, in a report on Thu Jun 11, 11:34 Jerusalem, described Hezbollah as an 'unlawful military organization' and an 'Iranian arm.' Analyst Yossi Yehoshua, on Sat Jun 20, 16:46 Jerusalem, assessed that Iran is directing Hezbollah to pressure IDF forces in southern Lebanon, aiming to force an Israeli withdrawal.
It remains unclear whether the Lebanese army will act on Zamir's call to clear Hezbollah from the south, an obligation under UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that it has largely failed to fulfill in the past. The full scope of Hezbollah's underground infrastructure in the Beaufort area and the extent of continued Iranian funding also remain open questions.
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