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Israel will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River to create a “defensive buffer,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday, spelling out for the first time Israel’s intent to seize territory amounting to nearly a tenth of Lebanon.
At a meeting with the military chief of staff, Katz said Israeli forces would “control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani,” a river that meets the Mediterranean about 30 kilometres north of Israel’s border.
The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said it would fight to prevent Israeli troops from occupying southern Lebanon, calling such a move an “existential threat” to the Lebanese state.
Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said any Israeli occupation south of the Litani would be met with resistance. “We have no choice but to confront this aggression and cling to the land,” he told Reuters.
Israel has destroyed five bridges over the river since March 13 and accelerated the demolition of homes in Lebanese villages near the border, part of what it says is a campaign against Hezbollah rather than civilians. Under international law, attacks on civilian infrastructure, including homes and bridges, are generally prohibited.
Israeli strikes have destroyed hundreds of homes and civilian infrastructure in Lebanon. The UN human rights office warns some strikes may be war crimes. Ravina Shamdasani, the office’s chief spokesperson, explains what considerations are made under international law.
Asked about Katz’s comments, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the rhetoric was “very much concerning.”
“This is the last thing we would want to see. This is the last thing the Lebanese people in the south would want to see,” he told reporters in New York.
Global Affairs Canada strongly condemned Isreal’s plan to occupy southern Lebanon, writing on social media, “Lebanon’s sovereignty & territorial integrity must not be violated. Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel must cease and they must disarm.”
Katz had said there could be no homes or residents in areas of southern Lebanon where there was “terror,” an apparent reference to Hezbollah.
For the second time this week, Katz compared the approach to that taken by the Israeli military in Gaza, saying buildings near the border were being cleared and demolished “to create a defensive buffer and push the threat away from communities.”
Israeli minister calls for annexation
He said forces were establishing a “forward defensive line,” destroying infrastructure used by Hezbollah, including homes he described as “terrorist outposts.”
Israel’s strikes across Lebanon have killed more than 1,070 people, including more than 120 children, 80 women and 40 medics, Lebanon’s Health Ministry says. It does not otherwise distinguish between civilians and militants.
On Monday, influential Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel should annex southern Lebanon up to the river.
More than one million people have been displaced by strikes and evacuation orders, though thousands remain in parts of the south.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said a 15-year-old boy was killed early on Tuesday when Israeli troops carried out an incursion into the southeastern town of Halta and abducted a man. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There was no immediate comment from the Lebanese government. Residents who have fled the south decried the silence.
“If our government isn’t standing with us, what is it we can do?” said Najib Hussein Halawi, who fled his hometown of Kfar Kila near the border weeks ago. He says the village is in ruins.
Israel’s ambulance service said a woman in Israel was killed near the border with Lebanon following missile fire toward northern Israel on Tuesday, with two others wounded by shrapnel. It did not specify where the missile was fired from. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in Lebanon since the war began.
Girl, 3, killed in overnight strike
An overnight strike on an apartment southeast of Beirut killed three people, including a three-year-old girl, according to the Health Ministry. The blast tore open walls and scorched furniture in a neighbouring apartment.
“We don’t have any political affiliation to anyone at all,” said Rawaa Eido, the apartment’s owner. “Why — when they’re being targeted — do they want to hide in houses among people?” she said, in tears. There was no comment from the Israeli military.
Later on Tuesday, an Iranian missile was intercepted in Lebanese airspace by a launch from a foreign vessel off Lebanon’s shores, three security sources told Reuters. The Israeli military also said the missile was fired from Iran. Shrapnel landed in several Lebanese towns.
Lebanon on Tuesday declared the Iranian ambassador persona non grata and gave him until Sunday to leave, after ordering the departure of dozens of other Iranian nationals, including diplomats, earlier this month. It said the move did not represent a severing of diplomatic ties with Iran. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, in a post on X, praised Lebanon’s decision.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said Washington and Tehran could soon reach an agreement on ending the war following what he has described as talks between U.S. and Iranian officials. Iran has denied there have been any negotiations with the U.S.
It is unclear if a ceasefire in Lebanon would be part of any agreement on ending the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.