A senior Israeli political official says Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated that Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon as long as necessary to defend its northern border. The official says the IDF has struck 300 terror targets and killed roughly 100 Hezbollah operatives in response to recent Hezbollah attacks. Netanyahu also instructed the IDF to respond forcefully to any Hezbollah attack and remove threats against Israeli forces.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon as long as necessary to defend its northern border, a senior Israeli political official told reporters Saturday evening. The official said that in response to Hezbollah attacks over the past two days, the IDF has struck approximately 300 terror targets and killed roughly 100 operatives. Netanyahu instructed the military to respond forcefully to any Hezbollah attack and to remove threats against Israeli forces, the official added.
This development follows The Zioneer's earlier reporting Saturday evening (first published at 18:43 Jerusalem) that a senior official had conveyed similar figures — 300 targets struck and roughly 100 Hezbollah operatives killed — along with Netanyahu's commitment to remain in the zone. That bulletin was updated minutes later (18:44 Jerusalem) with the prime minister's reiteration of the policy. The Saturday statements continue a thread that began Friday, June 19, when The Zioneer reported at 14:11 Jerusalem that Netanyahu said Hezbollah would pay a 'heavy price' and the IDF was instructed to strike with 'immense force.' At 14:22 Jerusalem, after a Hezbollah anti-tank ambush killed four IDF soldiers of the 52nd Battalion, Netanyahu eulogized the battalion commander and said he had ordered more than 80 strikes. By 14:42 Jerusalem, the prime minister and Defense Minister Katz defined Hezbollah attacks on Israeli forces as ceasefire violations, with the IDF striking over 80 targets. At 20:24 Jerusalem Friday, Netanyahu said he had ordered 150 Hezbollah targets struck and that dozens of operatives were killed.
As The Zioneer reported on Tuesday, June 16 (17:15 Jerusalem), Netanyahu told U.S. President Donald Trump that the strikes in southern Lebanon had caused only light casualties and that he expected no Hezbollah response. That assessment was based on a senior Israeli political source.
The official Saturday evening spoke only on condition of anonymity and the IDF has not yet released independent casualty or target figures for the latest round. It remains unclear whether operational tempo will shift in the coming days or whether ceasefire negotiations — if any are underway — factor into the prime minister's stated position on the security zone.
5 developments
- ConfirmedNetanyahu: Israel will stay in security buffer zones as long as needed to defend itself
- StrongNetanyahu: IDF to stay in southern Lebanon as long as needed; 300 Hezbollah targets struck in two days
- DevelopingNetanyahu: 'We maintain freedom of action to protect northern residents'
- DevelopingNetanyahu acknowledges Israel's operational constraints in southern Lebanon
Source and signal
- Internal intake