All articles tagged with #litani river
Lebanon fears a renewed invasion after Israel signals Gaza-style tactics, expanding its target list to include all Litani River bridges and warning of a possible ground invasion, a move that has sparked displacement and concern from Beirut about another occupation.
Israel says it will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River to create a defensive buffer, with troops controlling bridges and a security zone and potentially seizing about a tenth of the country; Hezbollah vows to resist, and Lebanese residents have been displaced by strikes that have killed over 1,000. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged annexation up to the Litani. Lebanon has not commented publicly. The move escalates an already volatile conflict amid broader US-Israeli tensions with Iran and international concern over civilian casualties and infrastructure damage.
Israel’s defence minister said the army will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River to form a defensive buffer, a move Hezbollah vowed to resist as cross-border strikes and demolitions intensify; the Lebanon conflict has killed over 1,000 people and displaced more than a million.
Israel’s defence minister says the IDF will establish a large security zone inside southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, with troops in Lebanese territory and displaced residents barred from returning until northern Israel is safe. Five bridges used by Hezbollah for reinforcements were destroyed, part of a broader escalation after Hezbollah rockets were fired in response to Israeli strikes. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon and over a million displaced, prompting fears of a humanitarian crisis, while Lebanon’s government decries the plan as collective punishment.
Bezalel Smotrich urged annexing southern Lebanon and declaring the Litani River as Israel's new border, as Israel escalates strikes and a ground push into Lebanese territory, triggering mass displacement and drawing war-crimes concerns from the UN and aid groups.
Lebanon’s President Aoun calls Israel’s strike on the Qasmiyeh Bridge a prelude to a ground invasion as Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah escalates; Israeli officials say the operation has only begun and will be prolonged, with cross-border strikes and civilian infrastructure damage amid mounting casualties (four dead in the latest strikes; over 1,000 killed and more than a million displaced in nearly three weeks of fighting).
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Katz ordered the IDF to destroy all bridges over the Litani River used by Hezbollah and to accelerate demolition of Lebanese homes in contact-line villages, following a Gaza-style model. The goal is to neutralize threats to Israeli communities as ground operations press toward the anti-tank line and key positions. The IDF will continue safe evacuations for southern Lebanon residents; the IAF recently struck the Zarieh Bridge linked to Hezbollah activity, which had been used to move fighters and launch rockets.
Israel attacked the Litani River crossings in Lebanon as cross-border hostilities with Iran widened. Iran retaliated with missiles on central Israel, and the broader region saw heightened tensions, interceptions of attacks in the Gulf, and spillovers into energy markets, with Brent crude topping $100 a barrel.
Israel says it will conduct focused airstrikes on crossings and bridges over Lebanon’s Litani River to cut Hezbollah reinforcements and weapons, and warns civilians to move north of the Zahrani River for safety.