Israeli army soldiers stand next to a self-propelled Howitzer artillery gun positioned in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the border with southern Lebanon on March 28, 2026. (Credit: Jalaa Marey/AFP)
BEIRUT — Israeli army's chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, went to southern Lebanon, where his troops are continuing their invasion of the region to reportedly establish a "buffer zone." Zamir vowed to "intensify" operations against Hezbollah, according to the military's statement.
The statement added that Zamir went to "Ras al-Bayada area, the northernmost point in southern Lebanon where Israeli soldiers are currently operating."
Bayyada is located on the coast, about 8 kilometers from the nearest point on the border and about 15 kilometers away from the coastal city of Sour. The Israeli army occupied this last week, as well as the village of Shamaa. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has continued to claim attacks at invading troops and army vehicles in these areas.
The statement added that Zamir told the troops that the attacks against Hezbollah "will intensify."
The entire south of the Litani is a 'zone of destruction'
"The damage inflicted on Hezbollah will intensify," Eyal Zamir told his troops. He also claimed that "1,000" Hezbollah fighters had been killed in one month.
Since the war started, Hezbollah has not reported the losses of its members.
Lebanon's Health Ministry said Sunday that 1,461 people had been killed and 4,430 wounded since the start of the war, including 1,235 men, 97 women and 129 children.
"The entire area south of the Litani River has become a zone of destruction, where the Northern Command forces and the air force are systematically striking Hezbollah fighters, in order to ensure a zone free of threats against Israel and demilitarized," Zamir continued. "The Israeli army is also seeking to establish an advanced defensive line to strengthen protection and keep the threat away from northern communities, and we will stay on that line as long as necessary."
Zamir insisted that the disarmament of Hezbollah remained a "supreme objective" of the war. His statement comes after an Israeli media leak reported that it was no longer a goal, a claim quickly denied by the defense minister and the army. This objective is "ongoing, it existed before the current battle, and this war will contribute to its realization," the chief of staff said.
