Israel will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, a territory amounting to nearly a tenth of the country amid ongoing fighting with Hezbollah, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.
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 flows into the Mediterranean about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Israel’s border.
“The IDF will continue to operate in Lebanon with full force against Hezbollah. Hundreds of thousands of residents of southern Lebanon who evacuated northward will not return south of the Litani River until security for the residents of the north is ensured,” Katz said.
Katz also said Israel has destroyed infrastructure used by Hezbollah to move personnel and weapons across southern Lebanon.
“All bridges over the Litani River that had been used by Hezbollah to move operatives and weapons into southern Lebanon have been blown up, and the IDF will control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani,” he said.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group rejected Israel’s move, warning it would resist any Israeli presence in the south.
Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah called such a step an “existential threat” to Lebanon and said the group would respond with resistance. “We have no choice but to confront this aggression and cling to the land,” he told Reuters.
Meanwhile, the IDF reported Tuesday that troops are continuing targeted ground operations in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah.
Troops eliminated eight militants and dismantled an underground shaft. Dozens of weapons were found in the shaft, including anti-tank rockets, Kalashnikov rifles, machine guns and grenades, according to the IDF.
