Netanyahu Says Israel Will Stay in South Lebanon Buffer Zone as Long as Needed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will remain in the security buffer zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary to protect communities in the north. He made the remarks while expressing condolences to the families of Lt. Col. Dor Gidlia Ben Shimon and the three soldiers killed the previous day.

Netanyahu said he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces to strike Hezbollah hard in response to the attack. He warned, "Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or on our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah."

According to the report, the IDF has already hit more than 80 terror targets and killed dozens of militants. This morning, the military also struck Hezbollah headquarters in the Beqaa Valley.

The statement comes amid intensified fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border, with Netanyahu framing the continued Israeli presence in southern Lebanon as a defensive necessity tied to the security of northern Israeli towns.