By Alexander Cornwell and Nazih Osseiran TEL AVIV/BEIRUT, March 24 (Reuters) - Israel will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, an area Defence Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday described as
Israel Signals Occupation Intent for Southern Lebanon, Raising Regional Risks
Escalating Tensions and Regional Implications
By Alexander Cornwell and Nazih Osseiran
Israel's Security Zone Declaration
TEL AVIV/BEIRUT, March 24 (Reuters) - Israel will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, an area Defence Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday described as a "security zone", spelling out for the first time Israel's intent to seize territory amounting to nearly a tenth of the country.
At a meeting with the military chief of staff, Katz said Israeli forces would "control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani," a river that meets the Mediterranean about 30 km (20 miles) north of Israel's border.
Hezbollah's Response
Lebanon's Iran‑backed Hezbollah said it would fight to prevent Israeli troops from occupying the south, calling such a move an "existential threat" to the Lebanese state.
Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said any Israeli occupation south of the Litani would be met with resistance. "We have no choice but to confront this aggression and cling to the land," he told Reuters.
Warnings to Lebanon's Government
Katz has previously warned Lebanon's government it could lose territory if it failed to disarm Hezbollah, which drew Lebanon into the U.S.‑Israeli war on Iran when it fired into Israel on March 2.
Israel has repeatedly invaded Lebanon in recent decades, and occupied the south until 2000. Since March 13, it has destroyed five bridges over the Litani and demolished homes in border villages, actions it says are part of a campaign against Hezbollah.
International Law Considerations
Under international law, attacks on civilian infrastructure, including homes and bridges, are generally prohibited.
International and UN Reaction
UN Spokesperson Voices Concern
UN SPOKESPERSON VOICES CONCERN
Asked about Katz's comments, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the rhetoric was "very much concerning."
"This is the last thing we would want to see. This is the last thing the Lebanese people in the south would want to see," he told reporters in New York.
Comparison to Gaza Campaign
Katz had said there could be no homes or residents in areas of southern Lebanon where there was "terror", an apparent reference to Hezbollah.
For the second time this week, he compared the approach to Israel's campaign in Gaza, saying buildings near the border were being demolished to create a defensive buffer.
Casualties and Humanitarian Impact
Mounting Casualties
CASUALTIES MOUNT
Israel's ambulance service said a woman in Israel was killed near the border with Lebanon following missile fire toward northern Israel on Tuesday, with two others wounded by shrapnel. It did not specify where the missile was fired from. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in Lebanon since the war began.
Israel's strikes across Lebanon have killed more than 1,070 people, including more than 120 children, 80 women and 40 medics, Lebanon's health ministry says. It does not otherwise distinguish between civilians and militants.
Displacement and Local Reactions
More than one million people have been displaced by strikes and evacuation orders, though thousands remain in parts of the south.
Lebanon's health ministry said a 15-year-old boy was killed early on Tuesday when Israeli troops carried out an incursion into the southeastern town of Halta and abducted a man. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lebanon's government did not comment on Katz's statement and residents who have fled the south decried the silence.
"If our government isn't standing with us, what is it we can do?" said Najib Hussein Halawi, who fled his hometown of Kfar Kila near the border.
Diplomatic Fallout and Regional Developments
Lebanon Tells Iranian Envoy to Leave
LEBANON TELLS IRANIAN ENVOY TO LEAVE
An overnight strike on an apartment southeast of Beirut killed three people, including a three-year-old girl, according to the health ministry. The blast tore open walls and scorched furniture in a neighbouring apartment.
Its owner, Rawaa Eido, told Reuters that militants who expect to be targeted should not be staying in residential buildings. "We don’t have any political affiliation to anyone at all...Why - when they’re being targeted - do they want to hide in houses among people?” she said, in tears. There was no comment from the Israeli military.
Missile Interception and Regional Security
Later on Tuesday, an Iranian missile was intercepted in Lebanese airspace by a launch from a foreign vessel off Lebanon's shores, three security sources told Reuters. The Israeli military also said the missile was fired from Iran. Shrapnel landed in several Lebanese towns.
Diplomatic Expulsions and Reactions
Lebanon on Tuesday declared the Iranian ambassador persona non grata and gave him until Sunday to leave, after ordering the departure of dozens of other Iranian nationals including diplomats this month. It said the move did not represent a severing of diplomatic ties with Iran.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar praised the decision, while Hezbollah condemned it.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Tel Aviv and Pesha Magid in Jerusalem; Nazih Osseiran, Maya Gebeily, Laila Bassam and Tom Perry in Beirut, additional reporting by Omri Taasan in Jerusalem; Editing by William Maclean and Ros Russell)
