Israeli forces will occupy parts of south Lebanon even after war: defense minister
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday said Israel’s military would occupy a swathe of southern Lebanon even after the end of the current war against the Hezbollah armed group.
“At the end of the operation, the IDF will establish itself in a security zone inside Lebanon, on a defensive line against anti-tank missiles, and will maintain security control over the entire area up to the Litani,” Katz said in a video statement published by his ministry, referring to a river around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border.
Katz said hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese residents would be “completely prevented” from returning until north Israel’s security was ensured, adding that: “All the houses in the villages adjacent to the border in Lebanon will be demolished in accordance with the Rafah and Beit Hanoun model in Gaza.”
A strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday, AFPTV's live broadcast showed, after the Israeli military renewed its warning for residents to leave as it attacks the area.
The strike came shortly after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military would occupy a swathe of southern Lebanon even after the end of the war against the armed group.
Ongoing fighting, as Israel invades southern Lebanon, has killed UN peacekeepers and Israeli soldiers, officials said Tuesday.
Three United Nations peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon.
The UN Security Council is set to discuss the situation after three UN peacekeepers were killed in southern Lebanon in less than 24 hours, although it’s not clear who was responsible.
Two peacekeepers were killed on Monday after an explosion from an unknown origin destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan in south Lebanon, the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL said in a statement. Two other soldiers were wounded in the blast.
Another Indonesian soldier was killed overnight Sunday into Monday when a projectile exploded near one of the group's positions close to the southern Lebanese village of Adchit al-Qusayr. Another peacekeeper was critically injured at the time.
Israel says it is trying to push Hezbollah militants, who have fired rockets and drones across the border, out of southern Lebanon in a campaign that Israeli officials suggest could become a prolonged occupation.
Israel military says four soldiers killed in south Lebanon
Israel said early Tuesday that another four of its soldiers had been killed in the offensive.
A military statement named three soldiers from the same battalion who “fell during combat,” and a separate statement said another soldier whose name had not yet been cleared for publication had died in the same incident.
Another soldier was severely wounded and a reservist moderately wounded, according to the second statement.
Indonesia condemns Israel
Indonesia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it condemned the attacks in southern Lebanon on March 30 “in the strongest terms,” adding that they reflect the deteriorating security environment in the region.
It said that ongoing Israeli military operations have placed UN peacekeepers in Lebanon at grave risk.
The attacks over the weekend killed three Indonesians, the foreign ministry said.
