Netanyahu vows Israel stays in Lebanon while Hezbollah armed

Netanyahu vows – In a Tuesday visit to Israel’s security zone in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told combat troops that Israel will not leave “as long as Hezbollah remains” armed and threatening. The remarks came alongside a briefing on sector operations a

When Benjamin Netanyahu stepped into Israel’s security zone in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. he made the condition for leaving sound non-negotiable. He spoke to combat troops alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz and Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, telling them Israel’s stance would not change while Hezbollah remains armed.

“Our insistence is that we are not leaving southern Lebanon until the threat is nullified,” Netanyahu said in a video address posted to YouTube and translated to English. “And as long as Hezbollah remains here armed and threatening us — we are staying here.”

He praised the troops’ role in what he described as achievements driven by “your brave actions and the decisions we made,” adding: “We are very proud of what we have achieved thanks to your brave actions and the decisions we made.”

The visit wasn’t just a message. Netanyahu and Katz received an extensive briefing on operations in the sector from the Commander of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, the Commander of the 91st Division, and brigade commanders on the ground. They were also shown cutting-edge ammunition and weapons designed to counter the drone threat.

Netanyahu used the briefing to set out how Israel sees the campaign’s progress. He told the troops that Israel had begun “to crush” the Iranian axis and pointed to strikes inside Iran. He said Hezbollah’s rocket and missile arsenal has been severely degraded. claiming that Hezbollah once held 150. 000 missiles and rockets but now has “about 8% left.”.

That framing fed directly into how Netanyahu described the purpose of the security zone itself. He argued it represents a broader shift in Israeli doctrine—no longer allowing armed groups to sit directly on Israel’s borders.

“These security zones represent a conceptual shift: It means we do not allow an army of terrorists to sit on our border. ” Netanyahu said. “We push them away. That is what you are doing. And we are destroying everything above ground and underground that essentially served them as a means of attacking us.”.

He then laid out what he said the directive requires on the ground: “Infiltration, attacks, terror tunnels, terror villages — all of that is going. That is the directive: Leave nothing behind, and you are doing it.”

For troops, the final message was about immediate action. Netanyahu said the most important directive—shared by the defense minister, the chief of staff, and the deputy chief of staff—was to protect soldiers first. If a threat appeared, he said, soldiers should respond without waiting.

“I think the most important thing for you to know is that first and foremost. our directive — mine. the defense minister’s. the chief of staff’s. and the deputy chief of staff’s — is to protect yourselves. ” Netanyahu told them. “If you identify a threat to your safety, to your lives, or to the lives of your soldiers — act. Do not wait. Act: This is an ironclad directive.”.

In the briefing area, the message carried a simple logic: Israel would treat Hezbollah’s continued armed presence as the line that keeps it in place, while portraying ongoing operations—above and below ground, and against weapons and tunnel systems—as the way to “nullify” that threat.

Benjamin Netanyahu Israel southern Lebanon security zone Hezbollah Israel Katz Tamir Yadai Rafi Milo drone threat Iranian axis missile arsenal Doha peace talks