With the US-Iran-Israel ceasefire closing out its second day, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, on Thursday night, declared that the fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon has now become the main front.
Zamir said that "Iran from before the war is not the same as Iran now," adding "now it is much weaker."
Further, he said that if the ceasefire fails, Israel is "ready to return to fighting with great power at any moment."
The IDF chief did not make any reference to the talks with Lebanon over a ceasefire with Hezbollah announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday night.
Rather, Zamir noted that Hezbollah is becoming more isolated both within Lebanon and from Iran.
While Iran has benefited from a two-day ceasefire, Zamir emphasized that the IDF had hit Hezbollah with its heaviest strikes of the war.
In fact, the fact that the air force no longer has to focus its energies on the Islamic regime frees it up more directly to strike Hezbollah.
For most of the war until now, some IDF ground forces commanders have complained that they have lacked sufficient air support, while the air force was busy attacking Iran.
Zamir stated that Hezbollah has fled from its stronghold in Dahiya in Beirut, and not just from southern Lebanon.
Moreover, he said that this round of fighting with Hezbollah represents a unique opportunity
Hopes to coerce Hezbollah into disarming
Israel has said it hopes to use its current military advantage over Hezbollah to coerce it into disarming.
Despite Israel's tactical military victories against the Lebanese terror group, Hezbollah has managed to maintain nearly constant daily rocket fire on northern Israeli villages and has shown no readiness to fully disarm.