Israel threatens to seize more territory in southern Lebanon if Hezbollah joins Iran war

- Israeli defense minister says areas around Nabatiyeh and the Litani River would become part of a permanent security zone

- Israel Katz threatens evacuation of Beirut’s southern suburbs and displacement of more than 1 million

DUBAI: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has threatened to seize additional territory in southern Lebanon and expand Israel’s permanent security zone if Hezbollah joins Iran in attacking Israel, The Times of Israel reported on Wednesday.

“If Hezbollah joins Iran in an attack on Israel, it will be dealt a heavy blow and lose additional territory in southern Lebanon, in the areas of Nabatiyeh and the Litani, which will become part of Israel’s permanent security zone,” Katz said during a visit to the Israeli military’s buffer zone in southern Lebanon, according to the report.

Katz said the military was prepared to launch a ground offensive, adding that Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh and a Hezbollah stronghold, would be evacuated and its infrastructure targeted.

“More than 1 million Shiites will become displaced in Lebanon,” he said.

Katz also referred to Hezbollah’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in September 2024, and his successor Naim Qassem.

“Nasrallah destroyed Lebanon’s Shiite community before he was eliminated, and Naim Qassem could annihilate it completely, until he too is eliminated,” Katz said.

The remarks threaten a further expansion of Israel’s military operations and territorial control in Lebanon if Hezbollah becomes involved in a wider confrontation between Israel and Iran.