TEL AVIV/BEIRUT – Israel will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, an area Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday described as a “security zone,” spelling out for the first time Israel’s intent to seize territory amounting to nearly a tenth of the country.
At a meeting with the military chief of staff, Katz said Israeli forces would “control the ?remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani,” a river that meets the Mediterranean about 30 km (20 miles) north of Israel’s border.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed ?Hezbollah said ?it would fight to prevent Israeli troops from occupying the south, calling such a move an “existential threat” to the Lebanese state.
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