Netanyahu Claims Elimination of 9,000 Hezbollah Militants and Destruction of 92% of Their Missiles

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Tuesday that 9,000 militants from the Hezbollah militia have been eliminated in recent weeks, according to Israeli media reports.

During a visit to an Israeli-controlled military zone in southern Lebanon alongside Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, Netanyahu asserted that Hezbollah retains only 8% of its missile arsenal. He added that the purpose of the security zones in southern Lebanon is to remove threats from northern Israel.

Israeli assessments indicate that Hezbollah is facing a severe logistical crisis, which has compelled the group to seek assistance from Iran. This situation arises amid a shortage of manpower resources, which have been nearly depleted due to ongoing eliminations and attacks carried out by the Israeli army against the militias over an extended period, according to Israeli media.

The Israeli newspaper Maariv highlighted what it described as Iran’s "slow response" to Hezbollah's request to the Revolutionary Guard to send Iranian volunteers to join the group. This request followed Hezbollah’s relative failure to recruit Lebanese youth into its ranks and a worsening crisis as young members of the Shiite community in Lebanon increasingly refuse to volunteer for the militia.

Maariv also reported that Hezbollah’s shortage of human resources has intensified after suffering heavy casualties, with approximately 10,000 killed and 20,000 wounded. The newspaper characterized these figures as "massive" for a military faction such as Hezbollah.