Israel vows to occupy large parts of southern Lebanon to expand buffer zone [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Plans would prevent the return of hundreds of thousands of residents

Israel said on Tuesday that it will occupy wide swathes of south Lebanon and destroy the homes along the border to prevent the return of some 600,000 residents, prompting concerns of long-term forced displacement.

Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said that it will occupy the area under the Litani River, some 19 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border, as part of its so-called buffer zone inside southern Lebanon when fighting with Hezbollah ends.

“At the end of the operation, the IDF would control the area up to the Litani River, including the remaining Litani bridges, while eliminating Radwan forces that infiltrated the area and destroying all weapons there,” Katz said, referring to the elite unit of the pro-Iran Hezbollah group.

He added that all homes near the villages would be destroyed “in accordance with the Rafah and Beit Hanoun model in Gaza.” The Israeli military razed most homes and public infrastructure in both neighbourhoods of Gaza, reducing them to rubble.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/31/israel-vows-occupy-large-parts-southern-lebanon-expand-buffer-zone