Israel Will Create Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon to Allow Return of Evacuated Residents, Gallant Says

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Amid Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza and conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced Sunday that the IDF will create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon to protect evacuated residents who return to their homes in northern Israel, the Jewish Press (JP) reports.

Some 80,000 Israelis have been evacuated since Hezbollah began firing thousands of rockets at their towns in northern Israel as an act of solidarity with fellow Iranian proxy Hamas. Hezbollah announced it would keep firing rockets until Israel stopped the war in Gaza. While continuing the war in Gaza, Israel began an air and ground assault in Lebanon to dismantle Hezbollah’s positions and military capability and prevent it from threatening northern Israeli residents.

During a discussion with IDF reservists at the northern front on Sunday, Gallant said: “The first line of villages contains Hezbollah military targets where thousands of weapons and missiles are stored and where there are hundreds of tunnels. These [military targets] will be destroyed, and even once IDF troops withdraw, we will not allow Hezbollah terrorists to return to these areas.”

“At this observation post, we can see the entire first line of villages with Hezbollah infrastructure. These are military targets containing underground tunnels and weapon storages; our troops found hundreds of RPGs, munition, and anti-tank missiles here. The IDF is currently destroying these means above and under the ground,” Gallant continued.

“I have instructed the IDF at all levels to ensure the destruction of [attack infrastructure] and to ensure that terrorists may not return to these places. This is essential in order to ensure the safety of Israel’s northern communities,” Gallant asserted.

“The IDF’s actions are powerful and effective – we are operating in the entire area. We have destroyed [attack] infrastructure in Beirut, in the Beka’a and across Lebanon, and now we are operating along the border. We will continue until operational requirements are achieved,” Gallant said.

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