Israel says it has consolidated security zone in southern Lebanon
Israel said on Friday that it has consolidated a security zone in southern Lebanon after taking control of a strategic hill north of the Litani River. The move was described by Israeli officials as part of an area they occupy in the south of Lebanon. The announcement adds to tensions along the border and underlines the continuing fragility of the situation in the area.
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According to the confirmed details, the Israeli military said on Thursday that it had taken the hill, which sits at the edge of the occupied zone in southern Lebanon. Israeli officials said the position had been used by Hezbollah and that tunnels had been dug in the sector. They said those tunnels allowed the launch of drones and missiles against Israeli military positions in southern Lebanon and against northern Israel across the frontier.
Israel's defence minister said the country would not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed. That statement gives the latest military move a clear political condition and links it to the wider dispute over Hezbollah's weapons and role in the border area. The development also comes against the backdrop of a long-running confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah that has repeatedly spilled across the frontier.
The latest move matters because the area around the Litani River has long been central to security discussions in southern Lebanon. Control of elevated ground can affect surveillance, movement and the ability to launch or prevent attacks. By tying any withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament, Israel is signalling that it sees the issue as part of a broader security arrangement rather than a temporary battlefield gain.
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The row also points to the wider regional context in which Hezbollah has been active. The supplied material says the group launched attacks against Israel in March in solidarity with Iran, drawing Lebanon into war, although the violence has eased since an agreement between Iran and the United States in June, alongside an agreement between Lebanon and Israel. Those developments suggest the border remains sensitive even when open fighting has diminished.
A convoy from the International Committee of the Red Cross was seen travelling in southern Lebanon to a meeting point to receive four people who had been detained in Israel, showing that humanitarian and detainee-related movements are continuing alongside the military standoff. The confirmed reporting does not say whether the latest Israeli position will change the pace of those contacts. It also remains unclear how Lebanon, Hezbollah and other involved parties will respond, and whether the security zone will become part of any wider negotiated arrangement.
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