Benjamin Netanyahu Says Israeli Forces Will Remain in Southern Lebanon Until Hezbollah Threat Ends

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israeli forces will remain in areas of southern Lebanon until the “threat posed by Iran and Hezbollah is removed,” speaking during a tour of occupied areas in southern Lebanon alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz.

“Israel detonates tunnel, strikes south Lebanon as Hezbollah says has right to self-defence Beirut (Lebanon) (AFP) – The Israeli army destroyed an extensive tunnel in southern Lebanon on Sunday, with Lebanese state media reporting strikes in the area and Iran-backed Hezbollah saying it reserves the right to respond to these attacks”

France 24

Netanyahu told troops that “We insist that we will not leave southern Lebanon until the threat has been eliminated,” adding that “As long as an armed Hezbollah remains here and threatens us-we will remain here.”

France 24

During the same tour, Netanyahu said Israel had ordered the destruction of infrastructure “including tunnels and villages” that had allegedly been used to launch attacks against Israel.

The reporting also described a trilateral framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel under US sponsorship on Friday, with a US official saying the US will help monitor compliance by the Lebanese and Israeli armies, including deploying American personnel on the ground in both Lebanon and Israel.

On Sunday, the Israeli army destroyed an extensive tunnel in southern Lebanon, with Lebanese state media reporting strikes in the area and Iran-backed Hezbollah saying it reserves the right to respond.

France 24 reported that the tunnel stretched more than 200 metres and reached a depth of over 25 metres, and that it contained “hundreds of weapons as well as several launch shafts intended to target the State of Israel and its civilians,” in a joint statement by Katz and Netanyahu.

Haaretz

Hezbollah said the attack was “a blatant violation of the ceasefire to which it has adhered until now,” while also saying it was monitoring and tracking violations and reserving its right to defend its homeland and its people.

In parallel, Israel National News described an IDF operation in the southern Lebanese village of Majdal Zoun, saying Netanyahu and Katz said the operation, named “Sof Pasuk,” destroyed Hezbollah’s underground terror infrastructure near Majdal Zoun and that “The route, more than 200 meters long and more than 25 meters deep, contained hundreds of weapons and several launch shafts intended to strike the territory of the State of Israel and its citizens.”

As the ceasefire framework took effect, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that the army had been instructed to use “all its might” in Lebanon even during the ceasefire if Israeli troops were subjected to any threat, and he said the army was ordered to demolish any structure or road that was booby-trapped and threatened the soldiers.

“Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that the army had been instructed to use all its might in Lebanon, even during the ceasefire, if Israeli troops were subjected to any threat”

Ici Beyrouth

L’Humanité framed Katz’s announcement on Tuesday, March 24, saying the Israeli army would seize a zone in southern Lebanon running from the border to the Litani River, about thirty kilometers further north, and that residents forced to relocate would not be allowed to return until an undetermined date.

Le Figaro reported that Bezalel Smotrich urged extending Israel’s border in southern Lebanon to the Litani River, saying “I say this here unequivocally, in all forums and in all discussions as well: the new Israeli border must be the Litani.”

Le Figaro also cited Lebanese authorities saying air and ground strikes have killed more than 1,000 and that more than a million people have been displaced, while Reuters reported Hanna Amil, mayor of the Christian border town of Rmeish, saying “We are already without electricity, water and we are short on diesel.”