IDF Says Hezbollah Command Structure 'Thoroughly Dismantled', but Israel Forced to Delay Iran Attack

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel is pressing ahead in its war against Hezbollah as the Iranian proxy continues to launch scores of projectiles at northern Israel daily.

Meanwhile, another Hamas commander who was heavily involved on October 7th was eliminated.

Israel's top general believes the Israel Defense Forces can win the war they're waging against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi declared, "In the north, there is a possibility of achieving a decisive outcome. We have thoroughly dismantled Hezbollah's senior command structure."

WATCH Analysis from Jerusalem: Hezbollah Command Structure 'Thoroughly Dismantled'

Strikes also continued in Beirut, where Israeli jets blew up a number of Hezbollah manufacturing and weapons storage facilities.

Ground troops found another extensive tunnel system loaded with weapons from which elite Hezbollah forces expected to launch an October 7th-style invasion of nearby Israel. The IDF wiped out the tunnels and the structures above, which were also jammed with Hezbollah weapons.

Israeli forces displayed some of the 3,200 explosives and 2,500 anti-tank missiles, along with other deadly weapons they've captured from Hezbollah.

The military's top military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, suggested this shows why Israel was forced to defend itself by invading Lebanon and waging war against Hezbollah.

"The amount of weapons we found confirms the importance of the ground activity of our forces to remove the threat to the northern settlements," Hagari said.

Yet, the IDF suffered one of its worst days of losses in Lebanon, with five soldiers killed Thursday and many others were wounded. IDF videos showed the wounded being evacuated to Israeli hospitals.

In Gaza, Israel's military claims it killed a Hamas commander, who, on October 7, 2023, led the attack on a bomb shelter that killed 16 Israelis. The IDF also insisted another slain Hamas terrorist – Mohammad Abu Itiwi – was a United Nations UNRWA employee.

Hagari explained, "Mohammad Abu Itiwi commanded the attack on the bomb shelter in Reim where young people fleeing the Nova music festival were taking cover." 

Iranians are showing their strong links to Hezbollah, protesting the deaths in Lebanon of the group's top leaders from Israeli air strikes and chanting "Death to Israel."

The head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has boasted that the anti-missile defense system the U.S. has recently placed in Israel won't be enough to save the Jewish nation.

Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami said, according to reports, that if Israel starts to attack Iran, "You cannot win this conflict. We will destroy you."

There are also reports indicating Israel has delayed an Iran strike after a U.S. intelligence leak of Israel's attack plans.

Actual targets weren't leaked, but they are likely to include missile launching sites since they pose Iran's main threat to Israel.

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