After months of gun battles that have left more than 500 people dead, Israeli forces are preparing for a “decisive strike” against Hezbollah in the north of the country, on the border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group, has been launching attacks on Israel since October to support Hamas in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking during a visit to the northern front, Israeli Lt. Gen. Ori Gordin told soldiers that “we have already eliminated more than 500 terrorists in Lebanon, the vast majority of them Hezbollah members,” according to an army statement.
Israeli troops operating to protect residents in that specific sector of the country are “preparing to go on the offensive,” continued Lieutenant General Gordin, head of the so-called Northern Command.
“When the moment comes and we go on the attack, it will be a decisive attack,” he assured.
Fighting since October 8 between the Israeli military and Hezbollah has killed at least 523 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters, according to an AFP tally based on data from various sources.
The majority, 342 people, were confirmed to be Hezbollah fighters, but the casualties also included at least 104 civilians.
Meanwhile, in northern Israel, at least 18 Israeli soldiers and 13 civilians were killed, according to the military.