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Israeli Finance Minister Calls for Annexation of Southern Lebanon Amid Escalating Strikes
Israel’s Bezalel Smotrich urges borders be pushed to the Litani River as airstrikes destroy bridges and homes in southern Lebanon, displacing over a million.
ND
by News Desk
2026-03-23
Israeli Finance Minister Calls for Annexation of Southern Lebanon Amid Escalating Strikes

Bezalel Smotrich has called for Israel to extend its border to the Litani River in southern Lebanon, as Israeli troops intensify air and ground strikes in the region targeting Hezbollah.

Smotrich’s remarks, the most explicit by a senior Israeli official on the potential seizure of Lebanese territory, came on Monday as Israel bombed bridges, destroyed homes, and continued a military campaign that has already displaced over one million residents and killed more than 1,000, according to Lebanese authorities.

The finance minister, leader of a far-right party in Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, said the conflict “needs to end with a different reality entirely… the new Israeli border must be the Litani.” He also suggested annexing territory in the Gaza Strip up to the armistice line with Hamas.

Over the weekend, Israeli forces struck key bridges linking southern Lebanon to the rest of the country, while ordering the demolition of homes near the border. International law generally prohibits attacks on civilian infrastructure, and the United Nations human rights chief has criticized Israel’s actions, particularly the forced evacuations.

Hanna Amil, mayor of the Christian border town of Rmeish, described the growing humanitarian crisis: “Already, we have no state electricity, no water, and diesel shortages. If all the routes to the north get cut off, who knows what the future could hold for us?”

Israel’s military says its operations aim to protect northern Israel from Hezbollah attacks, carrying out ground maneuvers and targeted raids on weapons stores and militants. Lebanon has outlawed Hezbollah’s military activity and continues to seek foreign pressure to end the conflict, with President Joseph Aoun offering to hold direct talks with Israel.

The situation marks a dangerous escalation in a decades-long cycle of conflict between the two neighbors, raising fears of a wider regional confrontation.
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Israel

hezbollah

Lebanon

MiddleEastCrisis
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