After holding a review at the Northern Command of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Safed area, Minister Gallant confirmed: “Half of the commanders of the Hezbollah force in southern Lebanon have been eliminated. The other half fled southern Lebanon”.
Mr. Gallant reiterated that the main goal on the Northern front is to eliminate the threat from Hezbollah so that tens of thousands of people evacuated from the border area with Lebanon can return home.
According to the sheet Times of Israelthe statement of the Israeli Defense Minister was made when the IDF conducted a major attack against dozens of locations of the Hezbollah group.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (right) visited the Northern Command of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on April 24. Photo: Israeli Ministry of Defense
The IDF emphasized that this coordinated raid is part of the Israeli army’s effort to destroy the infrastructure of the Lebanese armed group in the border area.
According to the IDF announcement, within just a few minutes, the Israeli army’s fighter jets and long-range artillery concentrated fire on about 40 Hezbollah targets in the town of Ayta ash-Shab.
The Israeli military said the targets included weapons depots, weapons collection points, military structures and other assets of Hezbollah.
The attack was carried out hours after Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at a residential community in northern Israel.
Since October 8, 2023 (the day after the Israeli army began its offensive into the Gaza Strip), Hezbollah has attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border almost daily.
Fighting between the two sides left about 380 people dead, mostly members of Hezbollah. 70,000 people were forced to evacuate.
A vehicle is destroyed in the village of al-Aramshe in Northern Israel, after a Hezbollah attack. Photo: Reuters
On the same day, April 24, according to the news agency ReutersIsraeli warplanes have fiercely attacked the northern Gaza Strip, after weeks of relative calm.
A senior Israeli defense official revealed on April 24 that the IDF is prepared for military operations in the southernmost city of Rafah in Gaza. The IDF can carry out the operation as soon as it receives government approval.
Similarly, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government said Israel is implementing a ground operation in Rafah but did not give a timeline.
At the White House, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington is still negotiating with Israel about Rafah.
Tags: Israel launched destructive attack killing Hezbollah commanders South Lebanon
