We will destroy all homes near the Lebanese border

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said on Tuesday that Israel will destroy all homes in the Lebanese villages near the border, stressing that it will not allow about 600,000 people who fled the south of the country to return to their homes before ensuring the security of northern Israel, pledging to cause destruction to the region similar to what happened in the Gaza Strip.

Katz reiterated Israel’s plans to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, saying that it will maintain its control over a strip of territory extending to the Litani River once the war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group ends.

More than 1.2 million people have been displaced and 1,200 others killed in Lebanon since Israel launched an attack on Hezbollah on March 2.

Earlier this month, the Israeli army ordered residents to leave large areas in the south and the southern suburbs controlled by Hezbollah, and the party’s political strongholds in eastern Lebanon.