Deadly Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon, Katz vows to impose a buffer zone up to the Litani

Various areas in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut witnessed a deadly military escalation on Tuesday, as Israeli warplanes launched a series of intense raids resulting in casualties and injuries. Field sources confirmed the martyrdom of five citizens and the injury of three others in an initial toll of these attacks, which targeted vehicles and residential gatherings deep in southern Lebanon.

In field details, an airstrike targeted a civilian car in the Qasimiya area, leading to the martyrdom of two and the injury of three others with varying degrees of wounds, who were subsequently transferred to hospitals. The shelling also hit the town of Deirkifa, where two more people were martyred, while the town of Abba recorded the fall of a young martyr due to a direct aerial targeting of the area.

The military operations were not limited to concentrated aerial bombardment but extended to include intense raids on the town of Qleileh, south of the city of Tyre, coinciding with intense artillery shelling that targeted the outskirts of the town of Mansouri. In a later development in the afternoon, a massive explosion rocked the southern suburbs of Beirut due to an Israeli raid targeting one of the neighborhoods there, which increased the pace of the escalating field tension.

On the Israeli political and military front, Security Minister Israel Katz issued extremely serious statements, revealing the occupation's intention to impose a new geographical reality in southern Lebanon. Katz clarified that Israel intends to establish what he described as a 'security zone' that will extend from the international border to the course of the Litani River, with guaranteed military control over it.

Katz indicated in a statement issued after an assessment of the security situation that the Israeli army would not be content with transient operations but would seek full control over all strategic junctions, including bridges and geographical links. He stressed that this area would remain under Israeli security control even after the cessation of hostilities to ensure that no border threats return.

Regarding the displaced persons file, the Israeli Security Minister explicitly announced that more than 600,000 Lebanese who were displaced from their areas would not be allowed to return to their homes located south of the Litani River at present. Katz linked the return of Lebanese residents to what he considered 'achieving full security' for the residents of settlements in northern Israel, which portends a long-term humanitarian crisis.

The Israeli minister also threatened to adopt a 'scorched earth' policy in Lebanese villages near the border, confirming that the army would work to demolish homes and infrastructure in those towns. Katz likened these measures to what the occupation army implemented in the Rafah and Beit Hanoun areas in the Gaza Strip, with the aim of removing any visual obstacles or fortifications that the resistance might use.

These field and political developments reflect an Israeli trend towards comprehensive demographic and geographical change in southern Lebanon, amidst international warnings of the repercussions of these plans. These statements raise widespread fears of turning southern Lebanon into a devastated buffer zone, which deepens the humanitarian tragedy of the displaced and places the region before open scenarios of confrontation.

The Israeli army will work to fully control the area up to the Litani, including bridges, and displaced persons will not be allowed to return before ensuring the security of the north.