Katz Warns Hezbollah of Heavy Price for Rockets

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday that Israel’s new ground operation in southern Lebanon will continue until Hezbollah no longer poses a threat to communities in northern Israel, warning that large numbers of displaced Lebanese residents will not be able to return to their homes in the area for the foreseeable future.

The remarks came hours after the IDF announced it had launched what it described as a targeted ground maneuver against Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. Israeli forces have pushed deeper into the area as part of an expanded effort to create a buffer zone along the border following Hezbollah’s attacks earlier this month during the wider war with Iran.

Speaking after a security assessment with senior military officials in Tel Aviv, Katz said the operation is intended to remove threats to Israeli civilians and restore security to northern communities.

“The IDF has begun a ground maneuver in Lebanon to remove threats and protect the residents of the Galilee and the north,” Katz said in a statement.

He added that hundreds of thousands of Shiite residents who have evacuated southern Lebanon will not be permitted to return to areas south of the Litani River until Israel’s security concerns are addressed.

“Hundreds of thousands of Shiite residents of south Lebanon who have evacuated and are evacuating from their homes will not return to the area south of the Litani until the safety of the residents of the north is guaranteed,” Katz said.

According to the defense minister, the military campaign is designed to replicate the strategy Israel used against Hamas in Gaza, where Israeli forces worked to dismantle militant infrastructure near the border and prevent armed groups from reestablishing their presence.

Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the military to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure near the border to block the group from returning to the area, comparing the approach to operations in Rafah, Beit Hanoun, and the tunnel network in Gaza.

The defense minister also issued a direct warning to Hezbollah’s leadership. He said the group’s current leader, Naim Qassem, was hiding underground while his actions had effectively displaced more than a million Lebanese civilians.

“If he misses Hassan Nasrallah and Ali Khamenei,” Katz said, referring to the former Hezbollah leader and the late Iranian supreme leader killed earlier in the war, “he will soon be able to meet them in the depths of hell.”

Katz added that Hezbollah would pay a “heavy price” for its attacks on Israel and pledged that the operation would continue until northern Israeli residents can safely return to their homes.