Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)

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Israel's military occupation of a "security zone" in southern Lebanon after the 2024 and 2026 wars with Hezbollah

Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)

Type Military occupation
Start date October 2024
Location Southern Lebanon, from the coast to the slopes of Mount Hermon
Participants Israel Defense Forces; Hezbollah; Lebanese Armed Forces
Cause Israel–Hezbollah wars of 2023–24 and 2026
Other Israel's defence minister put the zone at 700 km² in October 2026[1]

The Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present) is the presence of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a "security zone" inside Lebanon, first held after the 2024 ground invasion and greatly enlarged after fighting with Hezbollah resumed in March 2026. According to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS), "Israel" had occupied about 5% of Lebanon's territory by September 2026.[2] Israeli ministers have given shifting accounts of its purpose and duration, and some have called for annexation and settlement.

2024 invasion and the five points

"Israel" invaded southern Lebanon in late 2024. Under the ceasefire of 27 November 2024 it was to withdraw within 60 days, while Hezbollah left the area south of the Litani River.[3] Al Jazeera reported in September 2025 that "Israel" still occupied at least five points in the south and was "destroying villages in the area".[4]

2026: "up to the Litani"

After Hezbollah resumed fire on 2 March 2026, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on 24 March that "Israel" would occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani. Reuters wrote that this spelled out "for the first time Israel's intent to seize territory amounting to nearly a tenth of the country".[5] On 31 March Katz said: "At the end of the operation, the IDF would control the area up to the Litani River, including the remaining Litani bridges".[6] The day before Katz's first statement, the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said that "the new Israeli border must be the Litani".[7]

The Yellow Line and demolitions

A US-brokered framework agreement signed on 26 June 2026 provided for phased Israeli withdrawal through "pilot zones" handed to the Lebanese army.[8] Al Jazeera reported in October 2026 that "Israel" still held a zone up to 10 km deep, marked by a "Yellow Line", behind which it "continues to detonate homes"; about 50 frontline villages, including Khiam and Bint Jbeil, had been destroyed. The analyst Mohamad Bazzi told the channel that Israel's goal was to "empty, depopulate, and make those dozens of frontline villages and towns uninhabitable".[9]

On 20 October 2026 Katz wrote that "Israel has established a security zone inside Lebanese territory covering 700 square kilometers, from the western coast to Shaqif Castle and the southern slopes of Mount Hermon". He said about 200,000 Shia residents had been evacuated, that more than 60 villages including 23,000 homes had been demolished, and that the area "is now free of residents, armed infrastructure, and houses". He said the army would not withdraw until Hezbollah was disarmed, and that it was ready to take more of Nabatieh and the Litani basin, evacuate it and permanently annex it to the security zone, according to Annahar.[1]

Stated aims and settlement advocacy

The official Israeli justification is security: Katz said the zone was "aimed at preventing infiltrations and direct fire on northern settlements".[1] L'Orient Today noted in May 2026 that "Israeli authorities officially claim not to have expansionist aims in southern Lebanon".[10] Yet the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said on 14 May 2026 that Israel had a "settlement plan for Lebanon".[10] Settler groups, including Uri Tzafon and Nachala, campaign openly to settle the zone. The Uri Tzafon co-founder Anna Sloutskin told AFP: "The IDF goes in, conquers, and clears. And afterwards we must not withdraw, but settle."[11]

Land and property

Lebanese officials fear that displaced owners will be pressed to sell. In September 2026 the Lebanese cabinet approved a draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (see Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026)). Riad Al-Asaad of the South Reconstruction Company accused Israeli forces of bulldozing land-registry offices and taking property records.[12]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Annahar, Katz says Israel will hold Lebanese security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed Annahar, 20 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  2. ↑ Christopher M. Blanchard, Jeremy M. Sharp, Clayton Thomas and Jim Zanotti, U.S. Conflict with Iran Congressional Research Service, R48887, updated 18 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (US Congress-side).
  3. ↑ Ido Vock, Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire comes into effect BBC News, 27 November 2024, accessed 22 October 2026.
  4. ↑ Justin Salhani, Will a US-backed economic zone incentivise Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah? Al Jazeera, 1 September 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
  5. ↑ Alexander Cornwell and Nazih Osseiran, Israel's military to occupy swathe of southern Lebanon, defence minister says Reuters, 24 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  6. ↑ Reuters, Israel to establish buffer zone in south Lebanon up to Litani River, defence minister says Reuters, 31 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  7. ↑ Tamar Uriel-Beeri and Maya Gebeily, Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon Reuters, 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  8. ↑ Lana Harb, Lebanon's 'pilot zone' experiment: The case of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah Mada Masr, 19 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  9. ↑ Justin Salhani, How Israel's 'Yellow Line' is reshaping southern Lebanon Al Jazeera, 14 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 L'Orient Today, Ben Gvir discusses Israel's 'settlement plan' for south Lebanon L'Orient Today, 15 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  11. ↑ Alice Chancellor, 'Promised to us': The Israelis dreaming of settling south Lebanon Al-Monitor (AFP), 13 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  12. ↑ Najia Houssari, Who will protect occupied southern Lebanon from controversial land sales? Arab News, 30 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
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