Israel To Destroy ‘All Houses’ Near Lebanon Border, Defence Minister Says
JERUSALEM, March 31 (Reuters) – Israel will destroy all homes in Lebanese villages near the border and deny homes to 600,000 people fleeing the south until northern Israel is safe, the defense minister said on Tuesday, vowing to wreak havoc in the region similar to that in Gaza.
Israel Katz reiterates Israel’s plans to establish an agreement buffer zone Saying that he would maintain control in southern Lebanon zone area All the way to the Litani River when the war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group ended.
More than 1.2 million people have been displaced and 1,200 killed in Lebanon since Israel launched its offensive against Hezbollah on March 2. regional war.
The Litani River meets the Mediterranean Sea about 30 km (20 mi) north of the Israeli border, and the area between it and the Israeli border accounts for almost a 10th of Lebanon’s territory.
The Israeli army (IDF) ordered residents to leave the area earlier this month southern areascontrolled by Hezbollah southern suburbs Beirut and the group’s political centers in eastern Lebanon.
“At the end of the operation, the Israeli Armed Forces will establish a security zone (a defense line against anti-tank missiles) within Lebanon and maintain security control over the entire area up to the Litani River, including the remaining Litani bridges,” Katz said in a statement.
Israeli forces will eliminate Hezbollah’s elite Radwan warriors He said there were people who infiltrated the south and destroyed all the weapons. The official added that displaced residents will not be allowed to return to the south of the Litani “until the safety and security of the residents of northern Israel are guaranteed.”
“In order to permanently eliminate threats to those living in the north near the border, all houses in villages close to the Lebanese border will be demolished, in line with the model implemented in Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza,” he said.
5 THOUSAND UAVS AND MISSILES FIRED WITH HIZBALL
During the conflict, Hezbollah fired about 5,000 drones, rockets and missiles at Israel, Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said. The Israeli military also announced a new wave of attacks that it said targeted Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The war is the second major conflict between Israel and Hezbollah since 2024. Israel dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah in the last war, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah and thousands of his fighters.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that 1,247 people, including 124 children and 52 healthcare workers, died in Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
Sources told Reuters last week: 400 Hezbollah fighters He was killed.
The Israeli army said 10 of its soldiers were killed in clashes with Hezbollah, a group founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in 1982 to export the Islamic Revolution and fight Israeli forces. was occupied that year.
(Written by Tom Perry; Edited by Alex Richardson)
