Jerusalem (EFE).- Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz crossed the border into Lebanon on Sunday, along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other military officials, and confirmed that they are already destroying all Lebanese houses south of the Litani River.
«These houses are being demolished because they repeatedly become terrorist strongholds. The threat is simply eliminated,» Katz said, alluding once again to the Gaza cities that the army razed in Rafah and Beit Hanoun.
Katz nicknamed this operation «Silver Plow.»
«Ultimately, they lose territory and homes. That’s what they lose,» Katz said, insisting that the Israeli population in the north would not be evacuated as they were during the offensive against Hezbollah in 2024.
At the same time, Netanyahu warned that «there is still much work to be done» in Lebanon despite a scheduled meeting this week between representatives of both countries to negotiate a truce.
«We have achieved extraordinary feats, but there is still much to do, and we are doing it,» said Netanyahu in a statement released by his office, detailing his visit to southern Lebanon.
Specifically, he was south of the Litani River, an expanse of land slightly less than 10% of Lebanon that the army has occupied since the regional war it initiated with the United States against Iran. The Lebanese militia Hezbollah joined in support of Tehran.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, at least five people were killed, and 25 others were injured when the Israeli army attacked the city of Qana in southern Lebanon, according to the Health Emergency Operations Center of the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
These attacks follow the Lebanese presidency’s announcement on Friday of the first direct telephone contact with Israel through the two countries’ ambassadors in the US. The two countries agreed to meet on Tuesday at the State Department headquarters in Washington to discuss a possible truce.
In addition, on Apr. 8, Israel bombed central and crowded areas of Beirut, resulting in 357 deaths and over 1,200 injuries. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, this brings the total number of fatalities since Mar. 2 to over 2,000.EFE
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