Israeli troops train on 'attacking Lebanon' as general stresses 'readiness'

The Israeli army’s northern region commander, Major General Ori Gordin, has inspected a military exercise in which troops trained on “waging an attack on Lebanon as part of raising the level of readiness,” the Israeli army said on Tuesday.

“We are more prepared than before and we’re ready to act even tonight if needed. We will continue to strengthen our readiness and preparedness in the future,” Gordin told the forces.

“We have struck a very large number of cells on the other side, more than 150 cells have been hit, alongside the destruction of many of the enemy’s capabilities. We are largely working on destroying capabilities, stripping Hezbollah of its assets and pushing it backwards,” Gordin added.

“There are many things that still need to be dealt with to secure the success of the aspired result, represented in boosting safety so that we can return the residents of the northern region to their homes,” Gordin went on to say.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip erupted on October 7, the Israel-Lebanon border has seen near-daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces.

Violence on the border since October 7 has killed 190 people in Lebanon, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians including three journalists, according to an AFP tally.

In Israel's north, at least 15 people, including nine soldiers, have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006.