A former Israeli military commander has acknowledged defeat in war with Hezbollah, saying the resistance movement has established a “security zone” in the northern border with Lebanon.
Yiftah Ron-Tal, a major general reserve in Israel’s occupation army, was quoted as saying that Israel has lost control over the Galilee region adjacent to the Lebanese border, and a populated town in the north has been evacuated by settlers.
“Hezbollah has established a security zone inside” Israel, Ron-Tal said. “Instead of being in southern Lebanon, it is now in northern Israel. We are losing the Galilee. Most people will not return.”
The former Israeli commander added, "I was in Kiryat Shmona yesterday. It is a ghost town. It is an abandoned war zone. The only thing you can see there are animals. You just want to cry."
The Israeli regime has repeatedly attacked southern Lebanon since October 7, 2023 when it launched a ferocious war on the besieged Gaza Strip that has so far killed about 37,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
In retaliation, Hezbollah has launched near-daily rocket attacks on Israeli positions.
The Lebanese resistance forces on Thursday conducted a series of strikes against Israeli military positions in the north of the occupied territories in response to the ongoing Israeli onslaught against Palestinians in Gaza.
Hezbollah said it struck Israeli soldiers at the al-Raheb outpost with heavy machine guns and artillery shells, stressing that the designated targets were precisely hit.
It also published scenes of retaliatory operations against Meron Air Base and the headquarters of the Northern Command of the Israeli military.
In its biggest attack since October 8, Hezbollah fired on Wednesday around 30 drones and 150 rockets at Israel in reprisal for the recent killing of senior Hezbollah commander Sami Abdallah, better known by the nom the guerre Abu Taleb.
Hezbollah has already fought off two Israeli wars against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006. The resistance forced the regime to retreat in both conflicts.