Tel Aviv : On Wednesday, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, held a situational assessment at the Northern Command with members of the General Staff Forum, and approved offensive and defensive plans for the northern arena, where he pledged to return homes those Israelis from the northern part of the country who were evacuated due to security concerns.
"We are determined to create the security conditions that will return the residents to their homes, to the communities, with a high level of security, and we are ready to do all that is required to bring about these things," said Halevi. "Throughout the war for almost a year, we have been fighting in Gaza with two main goals, as well as others - dismantling Hamas and returning the hostages. We have achieved a lot, and we still have further forward to go."
"We still have many capabilities that we have not yet activated," he added. "We saw some of these things here, and it seems to me that the readiness is good and we are preparing these plans going forward. The rule is that every time we work on a certain stage, the next two stages are already ready to advance. At each stage, the price for Hezbollah must be high."