Jerusalem, Israel. Israel on Monday said displaced Lebanese driven from their homes by its military campaign would not be able to return until the safety of Israelis living near the border was ensured, as Israeli troops moved into new parts of southern Lebanon.
Ground operations in new locations
Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters that soldiers were conducting ground operations in “new locations,” describing the latest offensive as “limited and targeted.”
The extended operation began days after Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been ordered to expand its campaign. Katz later warned the country could face territorial losses and damage to its infrastructure unless Hezbollah was disarmed.
Escalation after March 2 rocket salvo
Israel’s military, which has occupied five positions in southern Lebanon since a November 2024 ceasefire with Hezbollah, sent additional forces into the country after Hezbollah fired a salvo of rockets on March 2, dragging Lebanon into an expanding regional war.
Hezbollah, a Shi’ite Muslim group, said its attack was in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader on February 28, the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Israel has responded with an intensive bombing campaign on Lebanon.
Israeli rationale and reported impact in Lebanon
The Israeli military has framed the ground offensive, launched after March 2, as a defensive effort to protect northern Israel from Hezbollah attacks, which it says have averaged at least 100 rockets and drones a day and have reached as far as central Israel.
More than 880 people in Lebanon have been killed, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, and more than 800,000 have been driven from their homes, many from the south as well as from areas near the capital, Beirut.
Katz links returns to border security and further operations
On Monday, Katz linked the return of displaced Lebanese residents to the safety of Israelis living near the border.
“Hundreds of thousands of Shi’ite residents of southern Lebanon who have evacuated or are evacuating their homes in southern Lebanon and Beirut will not return to areas south of the Litani line until the safety of northern residents is ensured,” Katz said in a statement.
He said the military had been instructed to destroy “terrorist infrastructure” in villages in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel, comparing the effort to operations in cities in the Gaza Strip that were largely destroyed by Israeli forces.
What do you think are the immediate implications of Israel’s warning for displaced Lebanese residents?