Israeli finance minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon up to Litani River

JERUSALEM: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for extending Israel's border with Lebanon up to the Litani River, deep inside the country's south, in what are being described as the most explicit remarks yet by a senior Israeli official on seizing Lebanese territory.

Smotrich demands new border at Litani River

Speaking on an Israeli radio programme on Monday, Smotrich declared that "the new Israeli border must be the Litani," as Israeli troops continued to bomb bridges and destroy homes in southern Lebanon as part of an escalating military assault.

Israel has maintained that its military operations in Lebanon are aimed at targeting Hezbollah. The conflict between the two sides intensified after Lebanon was drawn into the regional war on March 2, when Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel.

Mass displacement and mounting death toll

Since the escalation, Israel has ordered all residents to vacate the area south of the Litani River, while continuing to pummel the region with air strikes, designating it a Hezbollah stronghold. Lebanese authorities have reported that the Israeli air and ground assault has killed more than 1,000 people.

The humanitarian toll of the offensive has been severe, with more than one million people driven from their homes after Israel ordered residents to flee large swathes of the country.

Calls for territorial expansion draw attention

Smotrich's remarks represent a significant escalation in rhetoric from within the Israeli government. His call for annexing southern Lebanon up to the Litani River marks the most direct statement by a senior Israeli official regarding the seizure of Lebanese territory amid the ongoing military campaign.

The Litani River runs deep inside southern Lebanon, and extending Israel's border to that point would effectively mean the annexation of a substantial portion of Lebanese territory — an area that Israel has already ordered evacuated and has been subjecting to sustained bombardment.

The Israeli military's operations in southern Lebanon have included the destruction of infrastructure such as bridges, alongside the demolition of residential homes, as the assault in the region continues to intensify. The offensive has transformed the area south of the Litani River into a conflict zone, with the civilian population bearing the brunt of the military campaign.

Lebanese authorities continue to document the rising toll of the Israeli operations, with the death count surpassing 1,000 and displacement figures exceeding one million, underscoring the scale of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country.