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Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon

2026-03-23 19:36:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israel should expand its border with Lebanon to the Litani River, deep in the country's south, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday. Israel has escalated its attacks on Lebanon, after its forces bombed bridges and destroyed homes in the country's south in recent days.

Minister Smotrich's comments are the most direct yet from a senior Israeli official about taking Lebanese land in a war that Israel says it is waging solely against Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and other powers.

Lebanon was drawn into the regional war on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel. Since then, Israel has ordered all residents to evacuate areas south of the Litani River, as it has been bombing the area it considers a Hezbollah stronghold.

Israeli strikes in Beirut on Monday killed a commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, the Israeli military said.

Lebanese authorities say Israeli air and ground attacks have killed more than 1,000 people and forced more than a million to flee their homes, as Israel ordered residents to evacuate numerous parts of the country.

"The new Israeli border should be the Litani"

Smotrich told Israeli radio that the military campaign in Lebanon "must end with a completely different truth, both in terms of the decision on Hezbollah and the change in Israel's borders."

"I say it here clearly... in every forum and in every discussion: the new Israeli border must be the Litani," Smotrich said.

Smotrich, leader of a small far-right party in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet, often makes statements beyond official Israeli policy.

Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on these statements.

Defense Minister Israel Katz hinted earlier this month at plans to seize Lebanese land, saying Lebanon could face "territorial loss" if it does not disarm Hezbollah.

Smotrich's statements have resonated widely in Lebanon, which is struggling to emerge from a multi-decade cycle of invasions and occupations by its neighbor.

Israeli forces have carried out repeated attacks on Lebanon since 1978 and occupied the south from 1982 to 2000.

A Lebanese official told Reuters news agency that Beirut is still relying on foreign powers to exert enough pressure on Israel to end the war, through an offer from President Joseph Aoun to hold direct talks.

The Israeli military says its troops in Lebanon are conducting ground maneuvers and raids on Hezbollah militants and weapons depots to protect residents in northern Israel from Hezbollah, which has fired hundreds of rockets across the border since March 2.

The Lebanese government has banned Hezbollah's military activity and has stated that it wants to engage in direct talks with Israel. /REL