lebanon — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to expand invasions of southern lebanon, saying the move aims to change security in Israel’s north on Sunday ET. Israel’s defence minister said a buffer zone would be set up and Israel would keep security control up to the Litani River, a spokesman said on Tuesday ET. The order follows weeks of ground operations and broad strikes tied to the broader Iran war and escalating exchanges with Hezbollah.
Expanding operations and key facts
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke from the Northern Command on Sunday ET and declared: “I have just instructed to further expand the existing security buffer zone. We are determined to fundamentally change the situation in the north [of Israel]. ” Israel Katz, Israel’s defence minister, gave further public details on Tuesday ET that the intended control would extend up to the Litani River and that houses in villages near the border would be demolished.
Israeli ground troops were sent into southern lebanon on 2 March ET and the military has carried out widespread strikes across the country. Lebanese official tallies from the health ministry put the death toll in lebanon at at least 1, 238 people since early March ET, including 124 children, and say more than 1. 2 million people have been displaced. The Israeli military says 10 Israeli soldiers and two Israeli civilians have been killed in the same period.
Lebanon: Reactions and casualties
Maj Gen Michel Menassa, Lebanon’s Defence Minister, said Katz’s remarks reflected “a clear intention to impose a new occupation of Lebanese territory. ” The United Nations and several governments have criticised Israel’s announcement. The UN’s humanitarian affairs office has recorded civilian and aid-worker deaths and says 52 health workers have been killed.
Fighting in southern lebanon has produced high-profile casualties: three Lebanese journalists were killed while covering strikes; the Israel Defense Forces confirmed it killed two and labelled one a “terrorist. ” The UN Interim Force in Lebanon reported that peacekeepers were killed by a projectile at a site in the south and opened an inquiry. UNIFIL said, “We do not know the origin of the projectile. We have launched an investigation to determine all of the circumstances. ”
Immediate reactions from officials and institutions
Netanyahu’s public order to expand the buffer zone and Katz’s outline of control up to the Litani River have drawn terse reactions from Beirut and from international institutions. Maj Gen Michel Menassa framed the policy as an imposition on Lebanese territory. UN agencies and peacekeepers have announced investigations into recent deaths and urged protection of civilians and aid workers.
Israeli officials have framed the actions as measures to protect communities in northern Israel from Hezbollah attacks; Hezbollah’s earlier rocket strikes and Israel’s strikes preceded the broader conflict tied to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in late February, which triggered retaliatory operations that expanded the war dynamic in early March ET.
What happens next
Expect Israeli forces to press toward the Litani River and for battles to intensify where troops advance near river tributaries and frontline towns. UNIFIL investigations into the peacekeeper deaths and inquiries into the journalists’ killings are underway, and international criticism of plans to occupy or control territory in lebanon is likely to grow. Humanitarian teams warned that more displacement and civilian harm will follow if buffer-zone plans and demolitions proceed.
Officials in Jerusalem and Beirut have set opposing aims; the next days will show whether expanded ground operations consolidate a sustained security zone up to the Litani, how investigations by UN forces and agencies proceed, and how displacement and casualty figures evolve in lebanon (all time references ET).
