Following IDF Division 91's dramatic deeper push into southern Lebanon against Hezbollah, Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday said that the military would turn the villages there into a wasteland like in Gaza.
Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered the IDF "to destroy terror infrastructure in the nearby Lebanese border villages - to prevent threats and the return of Hezbollah to the area, exactly as was done to Hamas in Gaza, in Rafah, Beit Hanoun, and a variety of other areas."
Interestingly, similar language was quoted anonymously in an Axios report on Friday, which also said that the IDF was going to take over all of southern Lebanon in the largest invasion since 2006.
In contrast, top IDF officials said that there would be a dramatic escalation, but have pushed back against the idea that a decision has already been made to reoccupy all of southern Lebanon or that the current operation will be as large as even the operation in the fall of 2024.
Katz was not defense minister until after the fall 2024 operation and has talked less about those achievements.
Katz says that Qassem may join Nasrallah, Khamenei in 'depths of hell'
The defense minister added that if Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem misses Hassan Nasrallah and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei so much, "he can meet them soon in the depths of hell."
Additional troops from the four IDF divisions redeployed to the north could join the expanded operation at a later stage, depending on developments on the ground.
While the move marks a dramatic escalation, it still does not amount to a full-scale invasion along the lines of the 2024 campaign, as forces are not advancing all the way to the Litani River at this stage.
The IDF said the operations were aimed at removing threats near the border and creating “an additional layer of security” for residents of northern Israel.
Ahead of the ground operations, the IDF said it carried out artillery barrages and Air Force strikes on multiple Hezbollah targets.
The military added that troops are continuing defensive missions in the Galilee to protect nearby Israeli communities.
IDF troops carry out defensive missions in the Galilee
IDF troops are also carrying out defensive missions to protect communities in the Galilee, the military said.
The IDF added that it will continue to operate against Hezbollah, which “chose to join the hostilities and operate under the sponsorship of the Iranian terror regime,” and said it “will not allow harm to Israeli civilians.”
Additionally, on Sunday, the IDF reported that eighty-five percent to 90% of Hezbollah’s pre-2023 rocket arsenal has been destroyed.
