TEL AVIV, September 25. /TASS/. Head of the IDF Northern Command Major General Ori Gordin visited the exercise of the 7th Armored Brigade in the northern part of Israel and told the troops that they must be "ready for maneuvers and actions" against the Hezbollah Shia militia in Lebanon.

"We have entered a new stage of the campaign, and we currently carry out the ‘Northern Arrows’ operation. The operation started with a significant strike at the Hezbollah potential with an emphasis on their firing potential, and with a very significant strike at this organization’s commanders and militants. In these circumstances, we must change the security situation [on the Israeli-Lebanese border], we must be fully prepared for maneuvers and actions," he said, according to the IDF press office.

He made this statement during the meeting with the 7th Armored Brigade, which carry out an exercise near the northern border of Israel. Gordin underscored the importance of maintaining a constant readiness "in order to change the security situation and to establish conditions that would make it possible to bring Israeli people back to their homes."

On September 23, Israel announced the beginning of the "preemptive offensive operation" in Lebanon called "Northern Arrows." During the operation, the Israeli forces carry out strikes at Hezbollah military infrastructure. The stated goal of the operation is to establish safe conditions in the northern border areas of Israel in order to make it possible for tens of thousands of Israelis, who were evacuated due to constant shelling by Hezbollah since October 8, 2023, to return to their homes.