Nearly a year has passed since the ceasefire in Lebanon, yet the IDF has not paused its operations. In recent days the IDF has struck Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist infrastructure across the country, as both terrorist organizations continue trying to rebuild. A senior Israeli official said the IDF has little choice because Lebanon's military is simply not doing enough.
On Sunday, the IDF struck a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. The attacks followed an Arabic-language warning by Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF's Arabic spokesman, who urged residents of southern Lebanon and the village of Deir Qifa to distance themselves from areas and buildings that the army had marked on maps it distributed. Later, the IDF reported that it had destroyed several weapons depots belonging to Hezbollah's rocket unit, located in the heart of a civilian population. Earlier that day, the military announced that it had struck and killed two Hezbollah operatives in the Bint Jbeil and Blida areas of southern Lebanon.
The IDF is currently operating in Lebanon with near-complete freedom of action, aiming to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding despite its attempts to do so and despite Iranian efforts to arm the terrorist organization. According to a senior official who spoke with Israel Hayom, Hezbollah has not disappeared. He said it is rebuilding faster than Israel's ability to dismantle it and Lebanon's military is not doing enough. He added that he does not see the Lebanese Armed Forces dismantling Hezbollah and that only the IDF will dismantle the terrorist organization.
Dismantling Hezbollah
Israel and the US continue to demand that the Lebanese government disarm Hezbollah, but given the Lebanese military's ineffectiveness, the IDF continues to strike in Lebanon without pause. As previously reported, the army is preparing for a concentrated operation that would involve several days of fighting aimed at striking infrastructure and strategic assets. It is likely that during those days Hezbollah would fire rockets and drones at Israel.
The guiding principle behind the IDF's planned activity reflects one of the most significant lessons the army internalized from the October 7 attacks, if not the central one: Israel cannot allow any hostile group along its borders to arm itself freely. Unlike the period before the war, the military is now acting against capabilities rather than intentions.
Defense officials note that the very fact that the IDF is not allowing Hezbollah or any other hostile actors to rebuild in exchange for a deceptive calm that could ultimately cost Israel dearly should reassure residents of the northern border rather than unsettle them. They say this is the only way to maintain their security. Unlike in the past, when Israel often refrained from acting against Hezbollah's buildup and provocations, the IDF is now pursuing a policy of removing the threat at its source.
