Israeli army chief touts 'new strategic concept' during visit to Lebanon outposts

Jerusalem, Aug 14 (IANS) Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir toured army outposts in southern Lebanon, saying the armed forces had adopted "a new strategic concept" aimed at preempting emerging threats.

Video released by the military showed Zamir scanning the area through binoculars, speaking with commanders, and inspecting frontline positions.

"We are on the offensive, constantly thwarting threats. We identify and eliminate threats in all arenas," he said.

Zamir said that earlier on Wednesday, he had approved plans to "conquer Gaza" before travelling north, while the army continued operations in Syria, Yemen, and the occupied West Bank, and monitored developments in Iran.

"We are in a multi-front war, adapting our concepts to the threats. We are active in all arenas -- initiating attacks entirely on our own initiative," he said.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, brokered in November 2024 after 14 months of fighting, has not stopped Israeli strikes, reports Xinhua news agency.

Zamir said the military had killed more than 240 militants and carried out about 600 strikes since the truce began.

Hezbollah has largely refrained from large-scale attacks during the ceasefire but has mounted limited strikes, which it said were in response to repeated Israeli violations of the truce.

Recently, Israel's Defence Ministry signed a 260-million-US-dollar contract with Israeli defence electronics firm Elbit Systems to supply advanced airborne munitions to the Israeli army.

The deal includes an upgraded version of the Rampage, a long-range, supersonic, air-to-ground precision missile, capable of striking targets like air force bases, munitions depots, bunkers, and communication facilities, according to Israeli news website Ynet and business newspaper Calcalist.

The missile features satellite navigation and "fire-and-forget" guidance, among others.

Manufacturing will take place at Elbit's facilities in Israel, which have operated at surge capacity since the outbreak of the multi-front conflict in October 2023 to meet wartime demand, said the Defence Ministry.

This procurement is part of Israel's strategy to bolster domestic defence production amid export restrictions imposed by several countries during the multi-front conflict, most recently by Germany.

--IANS

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