Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu declared Monday night that Israel will sharply intensify its military campaign against Hezbollah, warning that the terror organization will face even stronger attacks as cross-border drone assaults continue to target northern Israeli communities.
In a video message released by his office, Netanyahu praised Israeli forces for their operations in Lebanon while making clear that the fighting is far from over.
“We are at war with Hezbollah. In recent weeks alone, our heroic soldiers have eliminated more than 600 terrorists. But we are not taking our foot off the gas pedal. I said we must press the pedal even harder,” Netanyahu stressed.
The prime minister also addressed Hezbollah’s increasing use of advanced drone technology, including cyber-guided unmanned aircraft that have posed growing challenges along the northern border.
“Yes, they are launching cyber-guided drones at us. We have a special team working on this, and we will solve that too. We need to increase the strikes and the intensity. We will strike them hard.”
Earlier in the day, Northern Command chief Rafi Milo delivered a forceful warning to Hezbollah during a ceremony honoring the Golan Brigade (474), as tensions escalated following a series of drone and explosive-drone attacks on the Galilee and Golan Heights.
Without explicitly detailing future plans, Milo strongly hinted that the IDF is preparing additional operations inside Lebanon.
“Harming civilians and civilian areas is not a reality that can be accepted or treated as routine.”
Milo emphasized that Israel would not allow continued attacks on residential areas in the north and accused Hezbollah of deliberately escalating the conflict by targeting civilians.
“We will not tolerate fire on the home front. Northern Command is at war. The Hezbollah terrorist organization deliberately chose to escalate the security reality in the north while directly targeting the civilian population. In doing so, the enemy has crossed a severe and unacceptable red line,” he added.
His remarks followed several drone strikes across northern Israel earlier Monday. In one incident, an explosive drone detonated near a children’s bus stop along the main road in the community of Shomera. No injuries were reported.
Later in the day, emergency crews responded to a fire that erupted near Rosh HaNikra after another explosive drone exploded in a wooded area. Firefighters worked to prevent the flames from spreading further.
{Matzav.com}