As Israeli warplanes bombed bridges and bulldozers demolished homes across southern Lebanon, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared Monday that the military campaign must end with Israel seizing territory up to the Litani River—the most explicit call yet by a senior Israeli official for annexing Lebanese land.
“The new Israeli border must be the Litani,” Smotrich told an Israeli radio program. “The military campaign in Lebanon needs to end with a different reality entirely, both with the Hezbollah decision but also with the change of Israel’s borders.”
The comments, from a far-right leader in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, come as Israeli forces escalate an assault that has already killed more than 1,000 people, displaced over a million, and destroyed infrastructure across southern Lebanon.
The Litani River Line
The Litani River runs about 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Israeli forces occupied the area from 1982 until their withdrawal in 2000. Smotrich’s demand effectively calls for a return to that occupation.
His remarks echo statements made earlier this month by Defense Minister Israel Katz, who warned Lebanon could face “loss of territory” if it did not disarm Hezbollah. But Smotrich went further, speaking explicitly of redrawing the border.
A military official told Reuters he could not comment on politicians’ remarks or the government’s long-term plans, adding that ground troops were limiting their raids to areas near the border, far from the Litani.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The War So Far
Lebanon was pulled into the regional conflict on March 2, when Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel in support of Hamas. Since then, Israel has ordered all residents to leave areas south of the Litani, pounding the region with airstrikes it says target Hezbollah strongholds.
Lebanese authorities say more than 1,000 people have been killed. More than a million have been driven from their homes. Israel has ordered residents to flee swaths of the country, and the military says it is carrying out ground maneuvers aimed at protecting communities in northern Israel from Hezbollah rocket fire.
On Monday, Israeli strikes hit two more crossings over the Litani River—one near a bridge struck Sunday, another on a different section of the river. The military has said it will destroy all crossings over the Litani.
International Law and the Human Toll
International law generally prohibits militaries from attacking civilian infrastructure. The United Nations human rights chief has criticized Israel’s actions in Lebanon, particularly the widespread use of evacuation orders. The Israeli military says the orders are meant to keep civilians out of harm’s way when it attacks Hezbollah.
For residents of border towns like Rmeish, the reality is increasingly desperate.
Hanna Amil, the Christian town’s mayor, told Reuters that residents have refused to leave. But movement is becoming nearly impossible.
“Once or twice a week, a convoy from the Lebanese army accompanies us as we try to get basic goods from nearby areas,” he said. “Already, we have no state electricity, no water and we have diesel shortages. If all the routes to the north get cut off, who knows what the future could hold for us.”
Gaza Precedent, Lebanon Future?
Smotrich also called for Israel to annex territory it now controls in the Gaza Strip, up to an armistice line with Hamas. A ceasefire signed in October left Israel in control of 53% of Gaza, where it has ordered residents out and bulldozed buildings.
The Israeli military says its operations in Lebanon are focused on Hezbollah militants and weapons stores, aimed at protecting residents in northern Israel from rocket fire that has continued since March 2.
The Lebanese government has outlawed Hezbollah military activity and said it wants to engage in direct talks with Israel. A Lebanese official told Reuters that Beirut is counting on foreign powers to pressure Israel to end the war.
What Comes Next
The Israeli offensive shows no signs of slowing. On Monday, the military issued evacuation orders for seven neighborhoods in Beirut’s southern suburbs and said it would continue striking Hezbollah with “increasing force.”
Smotrich’s call for annexation adds a new dimension to a conflict already spiraling. For the million Lebanese displaced from their homes, for the families of the 1,000 killed, and for the border town residents wondering how they will survive when the roads north are gone, the debate over whether Israel’s border will reach the Litani is not abstract.
It is the difference between whether they can ever go home, or whether their homes, like the river crossings and the neighborhoods of southern Lebanon, will simply disappear.
