Netanyahu Storms Southern Lebanon with His Security Minister: The War Continues and There is More to Be Done

SadaNews - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during his incursion into southern Lebanon with his Security Minister Israel Katz and Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army Eyal Zamir, said on Sunday, "The war continues, and there is still more to do." A statement from Netanyahu's office released on Sunday evening stated that "the Prime Minister visited (stormed) southern Lebanon today, accompanied by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and Northern Command Chief Rafi Milo." It added that Netanyahu "arrived at an advanced Israeli military site near the border, where he received a briefing on the activities of the brigade from the commander of the 'Galilee' brigade, Yuval Gaz." Netanyahu said in remarks made during his incursion into southern Lebanon: "I am here with the Defense Minister, the Chief of Staff, the brigade commander, and reservist soldiers. There... is a strong desire to fight." He added that "the war is ongoing, including within the security zone in Lebanon, where I just was." He continued: "What we see is that we have thwarted the threat of invasion from Lebanon thanks to this security zone, we are removing the threat of rocket fire, and we are also countering anti-tank missiles." Netanyahu stated that "there is still more work to be done; we have done tremendous work and achieved great accomplishments, and there is still more to do, and we are working on that." He added that "one of the things we see here is that we have fundamentally changed the face of the Middle East; our enemies Iran and the 'Axis of Evil' came to destroy us, and now they are fighting for their survival, and we see that on every front. This is a great achievement for Israel and its army." This comes as Netanyahu announced last Thursday that he had instructed to begin "direct" negotiations with Lebanon "as soon as possible," while Israeli reports mentioned that his close advisor Ron Dermer would coordinate the negotiations, which would be managed by Israel's Ambassador to Washington; with the aim of "alleviating international pressure on Israel" to enable it to resume the war against Iran. Netanyahu said in a video clip and a statement released after the announcement of the upcoming negotiations that "there is no ceasefire in Lebanon," adding: "We will continue to strike Hezbollah hard, and we will not stop until we restore security to you (addressing Israelis)."