As Hezbollah rockets continue to rain down on Israel, the IDF reported Thursday that rocket attacks now average under 100 a day, down from over 150 previously.

The IDF says the intensified military pressure, aimed at degrading Hezbollah’s rocket launching capabilities, are having an effect.

Meanwhile, the IDF says the over 2,250 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed in the fighting since the northern ground operation began.  On the other hand, 67 Israelis have been killed, including 16 civilians and 51 soldiers, 41 of whom were killed in action inside Lebanon.

The majority of fighting continues to take place within 5-6 kilometers of the Israeli-Lebanon border, as IDF forces continue to comb the area searching for Hezbollah tunnels, weapons, rocket launchers and infrastructures.

Warning that the fighting is complex, the IDF said: “We may not eliminate every threat, but we’re advancing well.”

As combat continues, reports have circulated that Israel is approaching a ceasefire in the north.   Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen told Reuters that Israel is closer than ever to reaching an agreement to end fighting in Lebanon and push Hezbollah away from the border, while insisting that Israel maintains the right to act military should it be violated.

Cohen emphasized that a major issue for Israel in the negotiations is the freedom to attack Hezbollah if it attempts to re-construct it’s terror infrastructure along the border, a demand which Hezbollah has continued to refuse.
“We will be less forgiving than in the past over attempts to create strongholds in territory near Israel,” Cohen said.   “That’s how we will be, and so that is certainly how we will act.”
A key sticking point for Israel, he said, is ensuring it retains freedom of action should Hezbollah return to border areas.
On Thursday, an Israeli official close to the negotiations said:  “We’re closer than we were yesterday, but not near enough to say it will end very soon.”  He also confirmed that Israel hopes to have a ceasefire in place by the time President-Elect Trump re-enters the White House in January.