Israeli Defense Minister Katz Says Over 60 Lebanon Villages Have Been Destroyed

Last week, the New York Times released the results of its investigation into the ongoing Israeli invasion and occupation of southern Lebanon and found that some 48 towns and villages had been destroyed by IDF forces. Defense Minister Israel Katz, in a weekend appearance on Israel’s Channel 14, bragged that the number is even higher. Katz boasted in the appearance that more than 60 villages were actually destroyed outright. “Every single village, we’re talking about 23,000 homes, is in ruins,” Katz declared before a cheering studio audience , before adding “there are no residents left, 200,000 people have been displaced.”

The comments appear to leave little doubt that Katz is presenting the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure as a primary goal of the ongoing war in Lebanon, and with elections approaching, one that Katz seems to be seeking to emphasize. “This is the Gaza model. That’s what we’ve been implementing,” Katz declared at the end of laying out those details. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz visits southern Lebanon The “ Gaza model” has been presented time and again by the Israeli right as something to adopt in their various other offensive wars.

Since it amounts to a level of wholesale destruction that is already bringing Israel charges of genocide for what happened in Gaza , the attempt to expand the policy abroad seems like it would be controversial, though the Israeli right seems to be campaigning almost exclusively on escalating and expanding the range of such attacks. While Israeli officials have tried to frame Katz as less extreme than some other members of the cabinet, the defense minister has repeatedly pushed narratives toward further aggression.

Indeed, just a few days ago he issued a statement threatening to expand the permanent occupation deeper into Lebanon and to totally annihilate Lebanon’s Shi’ite community. This puts the destruction in Lebanon in a position somewhat district from the indiscriminate violence in Gaza. While Israel is eagerly destroying much of the infrastructure in Lebanon as well, Katz has repeatedly made clear that Israel is deliberately targeting Shi’ites within Lebanon, destroying Shi’ite majority villages, and expelling Shi’ite civilians from their homes.

While there were already serious war crimes concerns under international law for the indiscriminate violence against civilians, deliberately targeting a single religion puts the crime in a potentially whole new category of religious persecution and violence. Israel invaded Lebanon in early March, and has expanded the offensive north of the Litani River. Though there are notionally some diplomatic deals in place with Lebanon at this point, none of them require Israel to stop attacking or occupying, and attacks on Lebanese towns continue daily.

The next round of the US-brokered talks is to take place in Tampa, Florida, and the focus is on getting Lebanon to lift its extent Israeli boycott laws , with Israeli officials continuing to insist that any requirements to stop attacking would be a “red line” for them. Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam is seeking international support for convincing Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and international help to reconstruct what has been destroyed.

Since Katz has repeatedly presented southern Lebanon as a “permanent” buffer zone Israel intends to control, that’s an uphill battle on both accounts. If you liked this article, please support Antiwar.com. We are 100% reader-supported.