Israel to occupy ‘security zone’ in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah threat neutralised

Katz also confirmed that the IDF had “blown up” all bridges across the Litani River that it suspected were used by Hezbollah to transfer terrorists and supplies into southern parts of the country.

“The IDF will control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani,” he concluded.

Likewise, IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said on Monday that the operation in Lebanon had “just begun”, adding: “We are expected to face several more weeks of fighting against Iran and Hezbollah.

“With each passing day, we are weakening the terror regime more and more. We will not allow the terror regime and its proxies to pose a threat to the state of Israel.”

Israeli troops have been pushing deeper into southern Lebanon after the Iran-backed terror group launched renewed rocket attacks against northern Israel following the IDF strikes on Iran.

Israel has maintained a presence in Lebanon beyond the deadline set out in a 2024 ceasefire between the two sides, arguing that the Lebanese Army has not deployed as stipulated under the truce to replace its withdrawing forces.

However, for the past week, the IDF has been expanding this presence in the form of what it calls a “forward defence”.

The area south of the Litani has traditionally been the site of Hezbollah’s provincial strongholds and a platform for attacks against northern Israeli communities.

Israel previously occupied the region in 1987 following a war with the PLO in Lebanon, during which Hezbollah emerged as a political and military force, but withdrew in 2000 following the election of Ehud Barak.

And, while Katz’s remarks emphasised that the new occupation would be temporary, some in the Israeli cabinet have suggested it should go further.

It comes amid the Lebanese government’s growing public opposition to Hezbollah, long funded by the Iranian regime. On Tuesday it declared Iran’s ambassador to the country persona non grata and instructed him to leave the country by Sunday.

Addressing his Religious Zionism party in the Knesset on Monday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich suggested that the Litani should be treated as the new de facto border of the Jewish state.

“The current war in Lebanon must end with a radical change, beyond the vanquishing of the terror group Hezbollah,” he said.

“The Litani must be our new border with the state of Lebanon, just like the ‘Yellow Line’ in Gaza and like the buffer zone and peak of the Hermon in Syria,” he added, in reference to the current IDF deployment to Gaza and the Israeli presence in southwestern Syria.

“We must not return to the October 6 [2023] situation, where the enemy is on our fences.

“We’ll push [the enemy] away on all fronts and create a sterile security cordon that will separate the enemy from our citizens.”

Elsewhere, the IDF confirmed that the death of a 60-year-old Israeli farmer in the border town of Misgav Am on Sunday was the inadvertent result of Israeli artillery, rather than Hezbollah rockets as had been initially believed.

An internal investigation found “several severe issues and operational errors”, which led to the death of Ofer Moskowitz.

“The shelling was carried out at an incorrect angle and not in accordance with required procedures. As a result, five shells struck the Misgav Am ridge instead of enemy targets,” a spokesperson said.

Responding to the investigation, Moskowitz’s brother, Roni, said he felt no ill-will towards the IDF, adding: “These kinds of things happen in a war.

“We, as a family, and certainly I, personally, are not looking to blame people. This is something that happened, and the loss of Ofer is a loss no matter what, and that is what we are focused on.”