Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Sunday that the army is still fighting and remains focused on protecting northern Israeli communities and civilians. Speaking during a tour and situational assessment in southern Lebanon, he said the ceasefire is fragile and the IDF must stay ready for a rapid return to combat, threat prevention and offense if needed. He added that all IDF resources are being directed to that mission.
Zamir held the assessment with Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, 91st Division commander Brig. Gen. Yuval Gaz, maneuver brigade commanders and other officers. He praised the troops and referred to the tank incident in which Lt. Col. Dor Ben Shimon, Staff Sgt. Yoav Klein, Staff Sgt. Naveh Chabshush and Staff Sgt. Liav Kebabia were killed. “We are paying a heavy price in defending the home,” he said. “Their deaths are painful, and I express deep sorrow from here.”
He said one of the main lessons of October 7 is that Israel will not allow radical terrorist groups to entrench themselves on its borders. According to Zamir, Hezbollah has suffered a “deep and serious blow” and Israel must remain prepared to keep operating and prevent its recovery. “He is in very severe distress,” he said, adding that in the last two days the army had disrupted an important middle-tier command chain in Bader units and other formations.
The tank incident occurred overnight between Thursday and Friday, around 12:20 a.m., when a “suspicious target” hit a tank from Battalion 52 operating under the Givati Brigade combat team near the village of Tebnine, in the Nabatieh area. The IDF has not yet determined what struck the tank, but ruled out an accident or malfunction and concluded it was hit from outside, likely by a drone carrying explosives or an anti-tank missile.
The remarks came as U.S. and Iranian negotiators opened talks in Switzerland to end the war, led by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Vance said progress had been made and linked it to stability in Lebanon, while President Donald Trump said on Fox News he was disappointed that Israel had not managed to eliminate Hezbollah and suggested giving Syrian President al-Sharaa authority to enter southern Lebanon. Shortly afterward, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Iran must immediately stop its well-funded proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, or Washington would strike Iran “very hard” again. Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier that there is no restriction on IDF troops in Lebanon and that the ceasefire leaves Israeli forces in all positions in the security zone protecting the north.
