War of Redemption likely to continue through 2026, IDF chief says

“We must be prepared to remain in these areas as long as sustained security for our communities has not yet been ensured,” Zamir said.

By JNS

The seven-front War of Redemption against Iran and its regional proxies is expected to continue throughout 2026, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Monday.

“Since the Oct. 7th massacre, the IDF has been engaged in combat in an ongoing multi-front war. We continue to remain prepared and vigilant for any scenario in all sectors,” Zamir told senior commanders at a military conference held at the Israeli Air Force’s Ramat David Base.

“We are still in a multi-front operation,” the military chief stressed, adding that 2026 “may continue to be a year of multi-front combat.”

As part of a new security doctrine developed in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, the IDF has established buffer zones on the front lines, adjacent to border communities in the north and south, he noted.

“We must be prepared to remain in these areas as long as sustained security for our communities has not yet been ensured,” Zamir said.

Ongoing diplomatic negotiations with Iran, Lebanon and Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip “are grounded in the achievements of the IDF, made possible by the troops and commanders in the air, at sea, and on land,” he continued.

Regarding the Islamic Republic, the chief of staff praised Operation Roaring Lion, in which he said the IDF “achieved unprecedented accomplishments and removed emerging existential threats.”

“We operated in a joint operation, together with the United States military, in extraordinary synchronization. We fulfilled every mission assigned to us and exceeded expectations,” he said, adding: “We must now ensure these achievements are translated into long-term strategic gain.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his address focused on Lebanon, saying the Jewish state has “the freedom of action to thwart immediate and emerging threats” posed by Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

“This is the agreement we made with the United States and also with the Lebanese government,” he stated.

“There are still two major threats from Lebanon, from Hezbollah: The threat of 122 mm rockets, and the threat of drones and UAVs,” the premier continued, saying the Israeli Defense Ministry and IDF were making “a very large technological effort” to eliminate these.

Netanyahu in his speech praised the military’s “monumental achievements” in Lebanon, including the elimination of Hezbollah’s long-range rocket array and the creation of the security zone, which he said prevents a cross-border invasion, as well as anti-tank fire.

“They have roughly 10% of the missiles they had at the start of the war,” noted the prime minister.

“However, these still trouble the residents of the north, and I greatly appreciate their resilience and their standing steadfast.”

The two-and-a-half-year-old War of Redemption began when Hamas, other Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist groups and Gazan “civilians” invaded the northwestern Negev from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, massacring some 1,200 people, wounding thousands and taking 251 hostages back to the Strip.