South of the Litani

Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that Israel will take control of large areas of southern Lebanon in its campaign against Hezbollah. The geographic reference is the Litani River, roughly 30 kilometres from the border. It is the same line that defined Israel's security zone between 1985 and 2000, when Israel occupied southern Lebanon for 15 years before withdrawing under Hezbollah pressure.

Since March 2, at least 1,094 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon and over 2,900 wounded. A fifth of Lebanon's population has been displaced in two weeks. In Sidon, families flee with mattresses strapped to car roofs. In Beirut, thousands sleep on the streets. Hezbollah has launched more than 3,500 missiles and drones at Israel since March 2. UNIFIL's headquarters in Naqoura was struck by a projectile, likely fired by a "non-state actor".

US officials told MTV Lebanon they consider the November 2024 ceasefire over and will not intervene to halt Israeli operations. The Lebanese government under Prime Minister Salam declared Hezbollah's military activities illegal and demanded it hand over its weapons. But Hezbollah does not answer to the Lebanese government. It answers to Tehran. And Tehran is in no position to order anyone to do anything. Israel is creating facts on the ground in southern Lebanon for the second time in 40 years. The first occupation lasted 15 years. Nobody knows how long this one will last.