Israel military chief held security assessment in south Lebanon, army says

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel's military chief and the head of its Shin Ben security agency held a security assessment inside southern Lebanon on Thursday, the military said on Friday.

"We continue to operate against the enemy and will not stop until we ensure that we can safely return the residents (evacuated from the north), not just now, but with a future outlook," said Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi in a video of the gathering released by the military.

"If anyone considers rebuilding these villages again, they will know that it's not worth constructing terrorist infrastructure because the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) will neutralize them again."

Ronen Bar, who heads the Shin Bet, said that "on a peaceful border, defense is on one side; on a wartime border, defense must be on both sides of the border with freedom of action."

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Toby Chopra)