State officials and bereaved families gathered at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl on Tuesday to mark the 40th anniversary of the First Lebanon War.
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Launched in June 1982, Operation Peace for Galilee – designed to be a short military campaign seeking to end cross-border raids from Lebanon into Israeli territory – evolved into a three-month war, which then turned into an 18-year stay in the security zone of southern Lebanon.
Hundreds of soldiers lost their lives and thousands more were wounded in what is considered the country's most controversial war.
President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz spoke at the ceremony.
Herzog emphasized that the Jewish state's struggle is with Iran "creating chaos and instability at our northern border through Hezbollah. Our struggle is against Iranian influence imposed on Lebanon that destroys Lebanon and tries to undermine stability in the Middle East."
The president then directed his comments toward the Lebanese people, saying that there is "no unsolved controversy" between Israelis and Lebanese.
For his part, Bennett said that the mission remains unchanged since the First Lebanon War, which is to "stand fiercely and protect ourselves."
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Referring to recent threats to Israeli citizens, the prime minister said that Israel would "not hesitate to do anything in the world to protect its citizens."
Gantz said that Israel has a "moral duty" to support the families of the soldiers who died during the First Lebanon War. "Forty years after the war, Israel is the strongest force in the region. There is no doubt in my mind if required to act again it will end in a definitive victory" for Israel, he said.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
