Skip to main content

Beirut couldn't. UNIFIL wouldn't. Israel did

1 min Mena Today

Israel will establish a buffer zone inside southern Lebanon and maintain control over the entire area up to the Litani River once the conflict with Hezbollah militants ends, Israel's defence minister said on Tuesday.

The Lebanese government has failed to disarm Hezbollah © Mena Today 

The Lebanese government has failed to disarm Hezbollah © Mena Today 

Israel will establish a buffer zone inside southern Lebanon and maintain control over the entire area up to the Litani River once the conflict with Hezbollah militants ends, Israel's defence minister said on Tuesday.

"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," Israel Katz said in a statement following a security assessment, calling it a "security zone".

Radwan forces are an elite military unit of Hezbollah.

Katz said that the more than 600,000 Lebanese residents who have been evacuated northward would be barred from returning south of the Litani until the safety of residents in northern Israel is guaranteed.

To that end, "all homes in villages near the border in Lebanon would be destroyed, according to the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza, in order to permanently remove threats near the border to northern residents" in Israel, Katz said.

The Lebanese government has failed to disarm Hezbollah. And let's not even talk about UNIFIL's useless role since its creation.

In this context, Israel is left to do the dirty work.

Reporting by Steven Scheer

Related

Syria

Disarm Hezbollah by force: Syria's Liberal Party offers Lebanon a way out

The Syrian Liberal Party has issued a bold call for a decisive international military alliance to disarm Hezbollah and restore full stability to Lebanon, proposing that Beirut formally request assistance from the existing US-sponsored international counterterrorism coalition.

Iran

Rubio defends Iran deal as Israel holds firm on Lebanon troops

The United States' top diplomat sought backing from sceptical Gulf allies on Wednesday for President Donald Trump's deal with Iran to end their war, while in another challenge to the accord, Israel insisted it would keep troops in southern Lebanon.

Morocco

Moroccan officers touch down in Israel

Moroccan military personnel arrived in Israel on June 18 to join the headquarters of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) in southern Israel, Donald Trump's "Peace Council" announced Tuesday on X.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Mena banner 4

To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.

  • Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.