Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has announced that Israeli forces intend to establish a permanent buffer zone and retain security control over a significant portion of southern Lebanon even after the current war with Hezbollah ends.
The proposed occupational zone would stretch up to the Litani River, located roughly 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the Israeli border.
In a video address released by the Defense Ministry, Katz detailed a harsh post-war reality for the region. He stated that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would dig in along a defensive line to intercept anti-tank missiles. Additionally, all homes in Lebanese villages adjacent to the border will be systematically demolished.
"All houses in villages near the border in Lebanon will be destroyed - according to the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza - to remove, once and for all, the threats near the border to northern residents," Katz declared.
He further noted that the estimated 600,000 Lebanese civilians who fled the southern region would be strictly prohibited from returning to their homes south of the Litani River until the safety of northern Israeli communities is fully secured.
The sweeping declarations triggered severe backlash from Lebanese and international officials. Lebanon's Defense Minister, Maj. Gen. Michel Menassa, argued that Katz's remarks were no longer empty threats but revealed "a clear intention to impose a new occupation of Lebanese territory, forcibly displace hundreds of thousands of citizens, and systematically destroy villages and towns in the south."
Addressing the UN Security Council, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher pointed out the catastrophic humanitarian toll of the conflict. He noted that 51 primary healthcare centers and four hospitals have already shuttered due to the violence. Pointing to the mass displacement, Fletcher challenged the council: "Given the intensity of the coercive displacement that we are seeing, how should we prepare, collectively as the international community, for a new addition to the list of occupied territories?"
Western leaders also voiced strong concern. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the Israeli ground operations as an "illegal invasion" that violates Lebanese sovereignty, even as he acknowledged the threat posed by Hezbollah. Similarly, foreign ministers from ten European nations—including the UK, France, and Italy—joined EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in urging Israel to respect Lebanon's territorial integrity. However, the coalition placed the ultimate blame for the escalating crisis on Hezbollah and demanded the militant group cease its attacks.
The current war erupted following Hezbollah rocket fire into northern Israel, launched in retaliation for the Israeli assassination of Iran's supreme leader in late February. On March 2, Israel launched a massive ground invasion into southern Lebanon.
Since early March, the Lebanese Health Ministry reports that at least 1,238 people have been killed in the country, including 124 children and 52 medical personnel. The violence has also claimed the lives of three Indonesian UN peacekeepers and three Lebanese journalists. The IDF confirmed it killed two of the journalists, labeling them "terrorists," though it provided no evidence. On the Israeli side, authorities report that Hezbollah attacks have killed 10 soldiers and two civilians.
The conflict has sparked a massive humanitarian crisis, displacing more than a million people—roughly one in six Lebanese citizens. Before the current war, a 2024 ceasefire agreement had mandated Hezbollah's disarmament and withdrawal from southern Lebanon under the supervision of the Lebanese government. Now, the region—a Shia Muslim heartland that is also home to Christian communities—faces the prospect of prolonged military occupation and widespread destruction.