Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon for as long as Hezbollah continues to pose a threat, reaffirming Israel's security policy during a visit to the Israeli military's security zone in the area.

Addressing Israeli troops, Netanyahu praised their role in weakening what he described as the "Iranian axis," citing Israeli strikes against Iran and military operations targeting Hezbollah.

"You have done huge work here; we have taken the Iranian axis and begun to crush it. We attacked Iran itself, something no one believed, and we removed an existential threat," Netanyahu told the soldiers.

"The most important link in the Iranian axis was here - Hezbollah," he added.

Netanyahu said Hezbollah had once possessed "150,000 missiles and rockets, which is the densest concentration of missiles and rockets on Earth."

"Out of these, 8% remain today," he said, adding that the remaining arsenal was "still significant, but it is no longer what it was."

He also claimed Israeli military operations had killed around 9,000 Hezbollah fighters, including "hundreds in recent weeks," although those figures could not be independently verified.

Netanyahu said Israel's military strategy had shifted toward establishing security buffer zones inside neighboring territory rather than relying solely on defenses along its own border.

"The main thing we did - and this is what you are doing here - is to create buffer zones, security zones - on their side of the border," he said.

"We are doing this in Lebanon, [just as] we did it in Gaza."

"These security zones are a change in perception. It means we do not allow a terrorist army to sit on our border. We push them away - that is what you are doing, and we destroy everything above and underground that served them essentially as a means of attacking us."

Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would maintain its military presence in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah no longer posed a security threat.

"We are very proud of what we have achieved here thanks to your brave action and also the decisions made. Our insistence is that we do not leave southern Lebanon until the threat is neutralized. As long as Hezbollah is here, armed, threatening us, we will remain," he said.

He also instructed Israeli forces to respond immediately to any imminent danger.

"The most important thing you should know - first of all, our instruction, mine, the defense minister's, the IDF chief and deputy chief of staff - is to protect yourselves. If you identify a threat to your security, to your life, to your soldiers - act. Do not wait. Act - this is an ironclad instruction," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli prime minister also linked recent diplomatic developments between Israel and Lebanon to the military campaign against Hezbollah.

"Because of what your actions achieved, Lebanon recognizes Israel and Israel recognizes Lebanon," he said.

"We also say to Iran and to Hezbollah - leave! You have nothing to do here! We are two sovereign states wanting to make peace, to truly return security and prosperity to the residents of the North and of Lebanon. 'You must leave!'"

Describing the broader regional implications, Netanyahu said: "This is a slap in the face, a punch in the face of the Iranian axis, and it will not necessarily pass quietly."

The visit concluded with military officials demonstrating innovative weapons systems and ammunition intended to counter Hezbollah's drone capabilities as Israeli forces continue operations inside southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu toured the area alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz, and military officials. The delegation received operational briefings from Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, 91st Division commander Brig. Gen. Yuval Gez, and other brigade commanders deployed in the sector. Military officials also presented new weapons and ammunition designed to counter Hezbollah's first-person-view (FPV) drone threat.