Following several days of heavy bombardment in the North, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited IDF troops stationed in the North and along the Lebanon border, according to a statement on Friday.
Gallant held a situation assessment with the Northern Command Commander, Maj.-Gen. Ori Gordin as well as the general staff.
Gallant called for increased vigilance in the face of the threat from Hezbollah and for increased intelligence operations in southern Lebanon.
He also toured the town of Kiryat Shmona, which has suffered persistent attacks from Lebanon since the start of the war.
Gallant also expressed his appreciation for the artillery brigades stationed in the North.
Maintain vigilance
He told the troops to be patient and vigilant that operations against Hezbollah would begin, "People explained to me with maps and examples, some of them very old and experienced people, who said we wouldn't do anything. I told them: wait, we will."
"This morning, we were hit by terrorists; at the beginning of the week, we eliminated one of the senior commanders of Hezbollah in the Western sector, and I tell you: I am not coming here for nothing. We must prepare and consider that anything can happen," Gallant told the soldiers, highlighting the recent successes of IDF operations.
"We will return the residents of the North to their homes," he told them, "We want to exhaust every chance to do it by agreement because we know that war has costs, and we prefer to avoid it."
"If we come to this conclusion - we will act simply because we have to take care of our citizens."