General Aoun to LAF soldiers: You have been up to all challenges that Lebanon faced

Lebanese Army commander General Joseph Aoun addressed on Wednesday the soldiers saying: "You have been up to the challenge that the country has faced, the Israeli enemy hasn't been able to weaken your will, nor the attacks carried out by terrorist groups internally have been able to weaken your determination to face them and paralyze their capabilities through pre-emptive operations."

Aoun’s comments were made on the 17th anniversary for the liberation of South Lebanon whereby he called on the soldiers to remain steadfast in addressing Israeli aggression and alert in the war against terror.

He urged soldiers to remain "ready to challenge Israeli threats and committed to United Nations Security Council’s resolution 1701 in collaboration with the international peacekeeping force."

Lebanon's Resistance and Liberation Day marks the Israeli army’s withdrawal from south Lebanon in May 2000 after 22 years of occupation.

Aoun also vowed to deploy utmost efforts to ensure the release of the ISIS-abducted Lebanese soldiers.

The nine soldiers have been held captive since Daesh, along with Jabhat Fatah al-Sham – previously known as the Nusra Front – shortly controlled the border town of Arsal in 2014.

More than 30 soldiers and policemen were originally captured but most were released. Some were killed in captivity, and nine army soldiers are still being held by Daesh.