Smotrich: Israel will continue its occupation of the five hills in southern Lebanon.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Wednesday that the Israeli occupation army intends to continue its occupation of the five hills in southern Lebanon, stressing that it "will not withdraw from them."

This came in Smotrich's statements during the "Strengthening the North" conference, held with the participation of Israeli civil society organizations in the settlement of Kiryat Shmona (north), according to what was reported by Channel 7.

Smotrich added that "the Israeli army will not withdraw from the five points it is present in Lebanese territory," referring to the disputed areas that have witnessed repeated tensions and military operations in recent months.

The five hills occupied by the Israeli army in its last war are: Al-Hamames, Al-Awida, Jabal Balat, Al-Labouneh, and Al-Aziziya.

The Israeli Finance Minister claimed that "the agreement with Lebanon gave Israel full legitimacy to weaken Hezbollah and effectively prevent it from rehabilitating itself on the border."

The Israeli minister claimed that "there is a high probability that Hezbollah's weapons have actually been destroyed, and that (Iranian Supreme Leader Ali) Khamenei has abandoned them and is no longer interested in rehabilitating them," he said.

He stressed that "the villages destroyed by the Israeli army in southern Lebanon will not be included in the reconstruction process."

These statements come amid escalating tensions on the southern front, and repeated Israeli airstrikes targeting civilian areas despite a ceasefire agreement in effect since late 2024.

On October 8, 2023, Israel launched an attack on Lebanon, which escalated into a full-scale war on September 23, 2024, resulting in more than 4,000 deaths and approximately 17,000 injuries.

On November 27, 2024, a ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel took effect, but Tel Aviv violated it more than 3,000 times, resulting in 259 deaths and 562 injuries, according to official data.

In defiance of the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army carried out a partial withdrawal from southern Lebanon, while continuing to occupy five Lebanese hills it captured in the last war, in addition to other areas it has occupied for decades.