BREAKING: IDF CAPTURES Hezbollah Stronghold; Historic Galilee Sites, Civilians SECURED | TBN Israel

Israeli soldiers are now moving openly through Bin Jbeil, the southern Lebanese town where Hassan Nassala once described Israel as weaker than a spider's web. The 98th Division and the 91st Division have established operational control over the area. More than 500 Hezbollah terrorists have been eliminated and over 1,500 terror sites have been destroyed. Command centers, loaded launchers, weapon depots, fighting positions, and military infrastructure were found inside civilian neighborhoods. But has Israel finally created the security needed to bring the Galilee back to life? Or is Hezbollah already preparing for the next round? I'm Ati Shoshani and this is Ground Report. The operation in Bin Jbeil was not a single raid. Israeli forces surrounded Bin Jbeil and the neighboring town of Einatah before moving into the built-up area. Forces from the Giv'ati Brigade and the Egoz Unit advanced through streets that Hezbollah had spent years preparing for combat. They searched buildings, they opened routes, located weapons, and directed fire against positions used to launch rockets towards the people of Israel. Engineering forces examined walls, floors, courtyards, and underground spaces, and a small opening inside a civilian structure can lead to a tunnel shaft, a command room, or a storage area filled with weapons. Infantry clears the building. Engineers examine what lies beneath it. Armored forces protect the and fire control teams identify targets farther inside the town. Within approximately one week, the 98th Division achieved operational control. The mission was then transferred to the 91st Division, which is continuing to search the area and destroy the infrastructure Hezbollah left behind. The transfer matters. Entering a town and striking visible targets is one stage. Holding the area long enough to uncover what was hidden is an entirely different one. Hezbollah built its military system to survive the first Israeli attack. Weapons were dispersed among homes. Launchers were concealed inside neighborhoods. Commanders could move through tunnels while Israeli aircraft searched above them. The organization did not need every position to survive. It only needed enough hidden infrastructure to remain operational after the main battle ended. That's why the war continues after the images of explosions disappear. The deputy commander of the 401st Brigade described Bin Jbeil as an important Hezbollah symbol, but said the operation was about something larger. Israeli forces are not there simply to replace one flag with another. They're trying to remove the systems that allowed Hezbollah to threaten northern Israel from only a few kilometers away. Every launcher destroyed in Bin Jbeil reduces the immediate danger to communities across the border. Every tunnel uncovered removed another route that could have been used by the Erdogan elite force. Every weapons depot eliminated makes it harder for Hezbollah to rebuild the same threat quietly. For residents of Metula, Kiryat Shmona, and the communities of the Galilee, this is not a theoretical military discussion. It determines whether children can remain in school, whether farmers can plan another season, and whether families can return home without wondering while Hezbollah is preparing across the border. That change is already being felt farther south, here in Tiberias. We're sitting here in Kiryat Shmona, a city that myself and our team have visited many, many times in the last couple of years, usually in the context of war, talking about something entirely different, talking about bringing tourism back to this part of the country. We understand that the Galilee suffered in the last three years from the war and lost all its tourist movement. And we want to revive it. We understand that the quiet is coming, that the situation in Lebanon is stabilizing, and now we can get the life back into Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee. And we do it in the civil life, the schools, the settlements, the cities, but also in tourism. And we want to call all the tourists in Israel and from abroad, come to the Galilee. It's reviving now. This is the time to get here. Yeah. You were telling me something earlier that I think is important, where the first step is reminding people that it's safe to come here. Maybe you can address that, anyone who's concerned at home, of, do we come back? Is the war over? Why do they need to come to the Galilee? Okay, we understand that the war is not over yet, but we are very strong in Lebanon, that it's very far away from here. We took the border at 10 and 20 kilometers north, and now we have quiet here in the cities of the Galilee. And it's a new situation, it wasn't like that in the last 30, 40 years. So it's the quietest time in the Galilee, and it's new. It's a thing of the last few weeks or month. So this is the time where everything is getting back to life. And if you'll come here, you won't feel the war at all, because it's happening a lot northern than where we are now. And to people, it's hard to get it, because, wow, we were here last year, there were bombs, there were drones. What's the situation now? It's very different now. And come and see it for yourselves. That is the opportunity now visible in the Galilee. It's not yet a guarantee. Lebanese political sources claim Hezbollah is already reinforcing positions north of the Litani River, rotating operatives, stockpiling food, and preparing hidden locations for another possible confrontation. Those reports have not been independently confirmed in full, but they reflect the central problem Israel is trying to solve. Hezbollah can lose control of a town and still preserve weapons elsewhere. It can move its operatives north. It can wait for Israeli forces to withdraw and later test whether the Lebanese state is willing to stop them from returning. That's where the military campaign meets the negotiations. After two days of talks in Rome, representatives of Israel, Lebanon, and the United States agreed on the structure and guidelines for what are being called pilot zones in southern Lebanon. The final arrangements are expected to be completed before implementation truly begins. Under the proposed process, Israeli forces would withdraw from the designated areas. The Lebanese armed forces would then deploy and assume security responsibility. A third party would be required to verify that Hezbollah's fighters, weapons, tunnels, and military facilities had been removed. That final stage may be the most difficult. Checking whether Hezbollah uniformed members are standing in the street is relatively simple. Proving that a private building does not contain a sealed weapons room or a hidden shaft requires access, intelligence, and the authority to act. Israeli officials say UNIFIL and the United Nations True Supervision Organization will not serve as the verification mechanism. American soldiers are also not expected to enter Lebanese villages and conduct the inspections themselves. Washington can coordinate the process. It can provide the intelligence, funding, and diplomatic pressure. But the Lebanese army will eventually have to prove that it can confront an armed organization that has operated above the Lebanese state for an entire decade. Hezbollah opposes the negotiations and refused to surrender its weapons. And inside Lebanon, efforts to disarm the organization have already deepened political divisions and created warnings of internal conflict. This is not simply an argument over one border agreement. It's a struggle over who decides when Lebanon goes to war. Does that decision belong to the government in Beirut or to Hezbollah commanders receiving direction from Tehran? Iran now has an even stronger reason to preserve Hezbollah. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is under sustained American pressure. Iranian military infrastructure is being struck and Tehran's ability to project power directly is being challenged. Hezbollah remains one of Iran's most strategic and important assets. If the organization can still threaten northern Israel, Tehran retains another front it can activate as the confrontation with the United States develops. We've beat Hezbollah in a way that we haven't done in many years. We've stabilized the situation in Syria in a way that hasn't existed since before me or you were born. And the same exists also to Iran. I think we're about to see a time of peace and prosperity and safety in this part of the country that hasn't existed in decades. I couldn't agree more. I was abroad one month ago and I said to the people in the U.S. the soldier of the IDF who fought in Lebanon fought the war of the western civilizations and we won. We won. We as you said Hezbollah is not a factor anymore. We hope Iran is not a factor anymore and this will bring peace and prosperity to all of Israel to all the region not just Israel to Syria and to Lebanon and to Saudi Arabia and the Israel in it and the Galilee especially in it. And we are on the threshold of a new era here in the Galilee and we call you to be the first that enjoyed it. The word victory must now be measured by what happens after the main battle. If Hezbollah cannot return to the border, if the Lebanese army takes real control and if Israel can act against serious violations, the military achievement may become something lasting. If the agreement merely creates time for Hezbollah to reorganize then the next confrontation is being delayed not prevented. A new year has begun and with it comes a renewed opportunity to make a real difference in the land of Israel. The rebuild Israel campaign is back and this Tu B'Shvat we are planting something powerful an apple orchard in Israel's north near the border with Lebanon. But this isn't just about trees, it's about healing a wounded land. Every tree planted brings new strength, it creates jobs, restores agriculture and sends a clear message the people of Israel are not giving up. Your support makes this possible. Your donations go directly to planting these trees. Each tree is a symbol of hope, a symbol of faith and your part in this mission leaves a lasting impact for generations to come. Plant a tree, restore the land and build the future. Go to www.tbn.org slash rebuild Israel and be part of this mission one tree at a time. What you see on YouTube is only part of the story. Get closer to stories of faith, resilience and hope from Israel by visiting www.tbn.org slash journeys slash boots or text boots to 316-316 for direct updates from TBN Israel. With me Mati Shoshani and Yael reporting directly from Israel, you're not just watching the news, you're witnessing from people on the ground. TBN Israel brings honest first-hand coverage from the ground in Israel to viewers around the world. In partnership with TBN, we share what's really happening through a Judeo-Christian perspective rooted in truth, faith and the people living it every day. Your support helps deliver on-the-ground reporting, real stories of resilience and hope and trusted coverage that connects Christians and Jews to the land of Israel. Now the next phase of the story will not be measured only in destroyed launchers or kilometers separating Hezbollah from the Israeli border. It will also be measured in school schedules, hotel reservations, agricultural work, new business and families choosing to remain in the north. For years Hezbollah imposed a hidden cost on the Galilee even when the border appeared quiet. Residents understood that anti-tank teams were positioned across the hills. Communities lived with the possibility of rocket fire or a Radwan force raid. Investors knew that another escalation could close roads and empty towns within hours. Jewish, Arab and Bedouin communities across northern Israel face the same basic problem. It's difficult to build a stable economy under a permanent military threat. Tourism was among the first industries to suffer. Visitors cancelled trips, hotels lost an entire season, restaurants, tour guides, transportation companies, historic sites and family businesses all lost the people who normally keep the regional economy moving. The Galilee cannot be restored only by repairing damaged buildings. People must believe that they can return safely. Business owners must believe that another season will not disappear. Tourists must believe that northern Israel is once again a place to visit rather than a front line seen only in war reports. That's why this conversation in Tiberias belongs inside a report about Binchbel, The battlefield and hotel room are part of the same story. The work of an engineering force beneath a Lebanese building can determine whether a Christian family from the United States feels safe visiting the Sea of Galilee six months later. I want to take this someplace else. Both Israeli tourists and international tourists that come to Israel have a problem. They stay in very small circles again and again. They do Jerusalem, they do Tel Aviv, they do the Dead Sea and they do what we call Sovevkina. They go around the Sea of Galilee but they don't venture far away enough from that and there's history here that goes back to the first church. There's history that goes back to you know to the Tanaim, to the ancient Judaism post-destruction period that is rich, that is complex, that is fascinating. What do you encourage people to come and see in the Golan in the Galilee that they haven't seen yet? We understand that there is the Israel experience. That's what people who were in Israel experienced. They saw Jerusalem. We don't compete with Jerusalem. They saw Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea. It's very nice, very important. We call people to get on top of that experience the Galilee experience. We understand that the bedrock of our two civilizations, two religions happened here in the Galilee of the Christianity and Judaism and there is a lot to see. When you are coming to one day to the shore of the Sea of Galilee, you step in the water and you go back, you didn't experience the Galilee. You were in the Galilee. So we are in the GDA building now tourist activities all around the Galilee that centers in this experience, the Galilee experience. Spiritual, religion, tourist, political, civilian experience that get all the things that we have here in the Galilee and we have a lot and bring them to the tourist in the end of that comes here and visitors will give you everything that you have to experience in Galilee and I believe it's a very unique experience to every tourist who will come in but especially the Christian tourists that that's where the whole thing began. That history survived war, empires, earthquakes, and generations of political change. The challenge now is to ensure that it also survives Hezbollah's attempts to turn northern Israel into a permanent conflict zone. The military achievement in southern Lebanon will ultimately be judged by whether it allows the people of the Galilee to build, work, worship, and welcome visitors without waiting for the next alarm. Will the pilot zones become the beginning of genuine Lebanese sovereignty or will Hezbollah use the pause to return beneath the surface? Keep spreading the truth, follow us, and most importantly don't forget to click the subscribe button so that you can stay tuned to the truth in real time and never miss Boots on the Ground. Keep looking for me Matti Shoshani and Yair Pinto on social media to see life in Israel through our eyes. Now I want to remind you as always to pray for the people of Israel. Now more than ever we are at the tail end of a dramatic historic and unique war in history where our countries the United States and Israel stood up to the enemy of our time to the villain of our time the Iranian Ayatollah regime stood up to it and continue fighting against it and we need to be praying daily for our leadership, for Netanyahu, for President Trump, for our soldiers, the men and the women of Israel and the United States that are fighting this just war and for God's will to be to be done on earth here in the Galilee as it is in heaven. Be blessed guys and I'll see you all the next time. Hello this is Matti here in Jerusalem with TBN Israel. This is Yair Pinto from TBN Israel here in Jerusalem. TBN Israel is keeping viewers informed with Israel focused news culture and what God is doing in this land. Support TBN Israel today online at tbn.org slash Israel. Thank you.