Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his country’s armed forces on Tuesday to completely destroy what he described as the “infrastructure” of the Iran-backed Shiite movement Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, according to his office.
Visiting troops deployed in southern Lebanon, Netanyahu referred to all infrastructure — above and below ground — used by the movement’s military wing to attack northern Israel, particularly its network of underground tunnels.
“This is the order: leave nothing standing behind you, and you are doing it,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement released by his office via X.
He also urged Israeli forces to “act” immediately and “not wait” when they identify a threat. He further ruled out withdrawing units from the territory they have seized until Hezbollah is “fully” disarmed and “the threat is eliminated.”
For Netanyahu, Hezbollah represents the most critical link in what he calls the “axis of resistance” — a network of Iran-aligned forces across the region. He claimed that only “8%” remains of the 150,000 rockets he said Hezbollah once possessed, and that “9,000 terrorists” have been killed in Lebanon.
Both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government consider the “security zone” that Israel has unilaterally established in the country’s south to be an illegal occupation, in violation of international law. According to estimates by Lebanese media, the territory currently under Israeli control amounts to approximately 620 square kilometers — equivalent to roughly 6% of Lebanon’s total area.
AFP
