Israel Announces Plan to Destroy Lebanese Border Villages and Bar 600,000 From Returning

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Tuesday that Israel will destroy all homes in Lebanese villages near the border and bar approximately 600,000 displaced residents from returning to southern Lebanon until the security of northern Israel is guaranteed. Katz said Israeli forces would maintain security control over the entire area up to the Litani River, located approximately 30 km north of the Israeli border, once the war with Hezbollah ends. The announcement came as Israeli forces continued a ground offensive launched on March 2, 2026, following Hezbollah's decision to fire on Israel in support of Iran after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The Lebanese health ministry reported that figure includes 124 children and 52 medics, with more than 3,600 additional wounded. More than 1.2 million people have been displaced across Lebanon since the offensive began.

Katz invokes Gaza's Rafah as demolition blueprint Katz explicitly framed the planned destruction of border villages in terms of Israel's operations in the Gaza Strip, drawing a direct parallel to two areas already reduced to rubble.

„All houses in villages near the Lebanese border will be destroyed, in accordance with the model used in Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza, in order to permanently remove the threats near the border to northern residents.” — Israel Katz via Reuters

Radwan fighters who had infiltrated southern Lebanon would be eliminated and all weapons in the occupied area destroyed, Katz said. Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said Hezbollah had fired almost 5,000 drones, rockets and missiles at Israel during the conflict. Sources told Reuters that more than 400 Hezbollah fighters had been killed, while the Israeli military reported 10 of its own soldiers killed in fighting. Israel also carried out a new wave of airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday. Katz added that the IDF would establish a security zone inside Lebanon serving as a defensive line against anti-tank missiles, and would retain control of all remaining Litani bridges.

„We are determined to separate Lebanon from the Iranian arena, to pull out the snake's teeth, and remove the threat from Hizbollah.” — Israel Katz via Financial Times

Human Rights Watch warns of potential war crimes Human Rights Watch warned that the announced actions could constitute forced displacement and wanton destruction, both of which are classified as war crimes under international humanitarian law. The organization wrote to Katz to express what it described as grave concern regarding recent statements by Israeli authorities that undermine respect for international humanitarian law. HRW specifically cited statements Katz made on March 16, in which he threatened to prevent the return of people who had fled the region south of the Litani River.

„Using the refusal of the return of civilians as a bargaining chip constitutes forced displacement, which is prohibited by the laws of war and may constitute a war crime.” — Human Rights Watch via Notícias ao Minuto

Israeli military spokesperson Major Doron Spielman said in a Sunday interview that every home in southern Lebanon's Shia areas functioned as a command center, a characterization that drew further criticism from rights groups. The Lebanese army withdrew from its positions in the Christian-majority towns of Rmeish and Ain Ebl on Tuesday as Israeli troops advanced, over the protests of residents. Lebanon's minister for displaced persons warned of a long-term displacement crisis amid a funding shortfall, according to Reuters reporting from Beirut on Tuesday.

Conflict rooted in regional war ignited February 28 Israel previously occupied a similar swath of southern Lebanon for 18 years following its invasion in 1982, withdrawing in 2000. The current conflict is the second major confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah since 2024. During the previous 2024 war, Israeli troops did not reach the town of Bayada, located approximately 8 km from the city of Tyre, until two days before the end of fighting. Hezbollah was founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982 to export the Islamic Revolution and to fight Israeli forces who invaded that year.

The current offensive began on March 2, 2026, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Ali Khamenei, who died on February 28 in the opening strikes of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday ordered the military to expand the buffer zone within Lebanon, though he did not specify how far. Analysts cited by the Financial Times said Israel's current offensive was moving faster and deeper than its incursion during the 2024 hostilities. Israeli troops have advanced to Bayada, just 8 km from Tyre, and are also advancing toward towns in the Nabatieh district, whose capture would give Israeli forces high ground overlooking the Litani area. The Israeli military has issued evacuation orders covering nearly 15 percent of Lebanon's territory. People familiar with the planning told the Financial Times that the war with Hezbollah could outlast the US-Israeli war with Iran.

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