Israel’s defence minister has threatened to seize more territory in southern Lebanon and forcibly displace residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs if Hezbollah joins Iran in an attack on Israel.
Israel Katz’s comments on Wednesday come amid reports that Hezbollah is preparing for a new round of fighting with Israel, while Israel is also reported to be considering an escalation of its offensive in Lebanon in the coming weeks.
Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging fire in October 2023, with the conflict dramatically escalating into a full-scale war in September 2024. Fighting resumed on 2 March this year, alongside the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Hezbollah officials said at the time that the group was joining the war in support of Iran, to avenge the killing of its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and in response to months of Israeli attacks.
“If Hezbollah joins Iran in an attack on Israel, it will be dealt a heavy blow and lose additional territory in southern Lebanon, in the areas of Nabatieh and the Litani, which will become part of Israel’s permanent security zone,” Katz said on Wednesday morning during a visit to Israel’s security zone in southern Lebanon, known as the “Yellow Line”.
Israeli forces already occupy and have destroyed swathes of southern Lebanon within this security zone. Beirut’s southern suburbs have also suffered widespread damage from Israeli strikes.
Katz said the Israeli military was prepared to launch a ground offensive in the south. He also threatened to evacuate Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs – known as Dahieh – saying they “will also be evacuated, and its terror infrastructure will be struck, and more than one million Shias will become displaced in Lebanon”.
On 5 March, the Israeli army issued a mass evacuation warning covering the entire Dahieh, which includes several municipalities. Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has also threatened to turn the area into another Khan Younis.
Lebanon’s Shia community has been particularly affected by the three-year conflict, given its large presence in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced.
“[Hassan] Nasrallah destroyed Lebanon’s Shia community before he was eliminated, and Naim Qassem could annihilate it completely, until he too is eliminated,” Katz added, referring to Hezbollah’s former and current leaders.
On Tuesday night, Katz claimed that Iran and Iranian-backed groups were attempting to attack Israel and influence the outcome of the country’s 27 October general election.
The governing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking another term in office. The government has sought to capitalise on security incidents, including a recent attempted hijacking of a flydubai flight, while using genocidal rhetoric amid efforts to appeal to far-right voters.
Israeli airstrikes, shelling and demolitions have continued in southern Lebanon despite a framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel in June, which has made little progress towards ending the violence.
On Monday, Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli attacks over the past three years had killed 8,596 people and wounded 30,660, many of them civilians.