Commander of Israel’s Northern Command Major General Ori Gordin called on Monday for occupying part of southern Lebanon to turn it into a buffer zone that would prevent Hezbollah from launching attacks on northern Israel, thereby allowing displaced residents of the North to return to their homes.
Gordin submitted his recommendation to Israel’s chief of staff, reported Israel’s Israel Hayom daily.
It quoted sources as saying that Gordin believes that the conditions are appropriate and the army could create the buffer zone in a short time.
They explained that Israel has killed several members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit that is deployed along the Lebanese-Israeli border. Several of the members have also fled the area.
Only 20 percent of the Lebanese population remains in the South with the rest fleeing the attacks between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah had started launching attacks against Israel in support of Hamas in wake of the October 7 attack.
The sources noted that the low number of civilians in the region would make the Israeli military’s operation “simple and much faster.”
The purpose of the operation would be to eliminate the Hezbollah threat and force it to remove its fighters from the border areas so that they can no longer pose a risk to northern Israel, said Gordin.
Moreover, the occupation of some southern regions would gain Israel a bargaining chip in talks over a permanent settlement, which Hezbollah would have to agree to in exchange for the withdrawal of the Israeli army, he added.
Israel Hayom reported that some forces in the army expressed their reservations over the plan because it would pave the way for a wide-scale battle with Hezbollah. They warned that it remains unclear if such a fight could be contained to prevent it from turning into a long battle that may turn into a broad regional conflict.
Israel on Tuesday expanded its stated goals of the war in Gaza to include enabling residents to return to communities in northern Israel that have been evacuated due to attacks by Hezbollah.
The decision was approved during an overnight meeting of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, Netanyahu's office said.
Israel Hayom said that the majority of political and military leaderships in Israel were not keen on waging a war on Lebanon. They believe that Israel can deal Hezbollah a fatal blow, but it would incur heavy losses in the process.
