He emphasizes that he “will not allow” Hezbollah to return to areas south of the Litani River and warns the group against “making a mistake”
MADRID, 29 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Israeli Army stressed this Friday that it will “aggressively” apply the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon and has warned that it “will not allow” the Shiite militia party Hezbollah to return to areas located south of the Litani River, in line with resolution 1701 of the United Nations Security Council.
“The political class reached an agreement on a ceasefire with Lebanon and our job is to allow it and apply it. We will apply it aggressively, under the conditions we have imposed,” said the head of the Northern Command of the Israeli Army, Ori Gordin.
Thus, he stressed that Israeli forces “will not allow Hezbollah to return to these areas.” “Our intention is for this entire area to be clean of its capabilities and Hezbollah’s weapons. That is our role,” he said, according to a statement published by the Army.
Gordin has also warned Hezbollah against “making a mistake”, as “it would be a big mistake” that would lead the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to “return to combat”. “We are in application mode (of the ceasefire), but we can give the opposite order in a short time and return (to the offensive),” he maintained.
On the other hand, the head of the Northern Command has stated that the troops achieved “very significant successes” in their offensive against the group, which has suffered “a hard blow at all levels”, including losses in its leadership and in its ability to carry out attacks against Israel.
Gordin’s statements come two days after the ceasefire in Lebanon, after the approval given by the authorities of Israel and Lebanon, following the announcement made on Tuesday by the president of the United States, Joe Biden, that the parties had accepted the proposal transferred by Washington.
On October 1, Israel launched a new invasion of Lebanon after more than eleven months of fighting with Hezbollah on the border, following the attacks carried out on October 7, 2023, which left nearly 1,200 dead and 250 kidnapped and led to the Army Israeli to launch a bloody offensive against Gaza that has already left more than 44,300 dead and some 105,000 injured. Lebanon has reported nearly 4,000 deaths from the Israeli attacks.