Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he has ordered the country’s military to ‘expand’ the security zone in Lebanon to neutralise the threats posed by Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. This comes after he made an assessment of the situation with top officials at the northern command headquarters of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in Safed.
In a video message to the country, Netanyahu said Hezbollah still has residual capability to fire rockets against Israel. Through the widening of the operations, the Israeli prime minister said, the country’s military will attempt to thwart anti-tank missiles fired at them. He further said Israel is determined to “fundamentally change the situation” in the country’s north.
“In Lebanon, I have just ordered the military to further expand the existing security zone,” Netanyahu, who is popularly known as ‘Bibi’, said in his statement. “This is intended to definitively neutralise the threat of invasion (by Hezbollah militants) and to keep anti-tank missile fire away from the border.”ย
‘Visible cracks in Iranian regime’
In his remarks, Netanyahu said that Israel’s actions against Iran have resulted in “visible cracks” in the regime in Tehran. Iran, along with Hezbollah and Hamas, is not the same anymore, he said, adding that these three are “battered enemies” who are fighting for their existence.ย
“Instead of them surprising us, we are surprising them,” Netanyahu said. “We are the side that is acting, we are the side that is attacking, we are the side that is initiating, and we are deep in their territory.”
Netanyahu’s remarks against Iran come when speculations of US carrying out ground operations are being made. According to a report by the Washington Post, the ground operations will not be a full-scale invasion, and will instead focus on limited strikes like raiding the Strait of Hormuz and seizing the Kharg island.ย
Israel’s ops in Lebanon
Coming to Lebanon, Israel started its operations against Hezbollah in early March after the Iranian-backed group launched rockets and missiles at Tel Aviv in response to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing. Since then, Israel has carried out multiple aerial and ground attacks in southern Lebanon.
As per Lebanon, Israel’s actions have resulted in the death of over 1,100, while more than 3,200 remain injured. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has urged the United Nations (UN) to intervene and “fulfill its responsibilities” by ending the violations of international law by Israel.ย
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