Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called to enter into the next stage of the war during a Sunday situational assessment with the 98th Divison at the northern border, the Defense Ministry reported.
The meeting came as the IDF reported ongoing operational activity in southern Lebanon.
During the situational assessment, Gallant and the 98th Division reviewed the progress of the IDF up until now.
"We are essentially moving from a situation of defeating the enemy in all the contact villages to a state of destruction – blowing up tunnels, blowing up ammunition depots, dismantling Hezbollah," Gallant said.
"We are getting closer to completing the mission, although there is still more to do. The IDF is preparing for further tasks, but first and foremost, it is carrying out this operation properly," the defense minister added.
Additionally, Gallant discussed the Hezbollah terrorists that Israel had taken captive and reportedly noted that in interrogations, they disclosed the fear felt within the terror group.
"We have captives with us, and they are telling us what is happening. What they are telling us is that they are in tremendous fear," Gallant explained.
Hezbollah is 'afraid'
"They are afraid because they understand that there is something here they cannot handle – neither in strength, nor in the quality of the fighters, nor in precision, nor in determination," Gallant said when reportedly emphasizing the capabilities of the IDF in its battle against the terror group.
"This large network they called Hezbollah is crumbling, both along the contact lines and under the successive blows we are delivering to them in Beirut, Baalbek, Nabatieh, Tyre, and Sidon," he reportedly explained.
Gallant also reportedly expressed his determination to return residents from Israel's North to their homes.
IDF operations in Lebanon kill terrorists, destroy weapons
The 98th Division that Gallant addressed eliminated terrorists and significant weapon caches between Saturday and Sunday, Israel's military said.
The weapons destroyed by the division included grenades, Kalashnikov rifles, magazines, and combat equipment, the IDF noted.
The military also added that the forces destroyed several launchers prepared to fire at Israeli territory and that during the operation, the IDF identified an armed terrorist squad and attacked it from the air.
The IDF also noted the 146th Division's activity on Sunday, as it struck over 100 military targets used by Hezbollah. The targets hit reportedly included booby-trapped military structures and a weapons storage facility.
Furthermore, soldiers from the 36th Divison, conducting operations in southern Lebanon, reportedly discovered an underground tunnel and hideout used by Hezbollah terrorists.