The Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, stated this Saturday during an official visit that a wide strip of southern Lebanon —from the border, crossing the entire so-called security zone to the Blue Line— "is destroyed," and emphasized that there are "no residents left" as a result of Tel Aviv's military offensive in this area.
"All the towns have been razed, about 23,000 houses, all destroyed and demolished. I'm not even referring to what is underground, to the tunnels. Everything has been destroyed," Katz asserted, who took advantage of his visit to congratulate the forces deployed on the ground for the results of the operation.
The Defense chief insisted that Israel is applying the "Gaza model," where, he indicated, they have achieved their "objectives" after destroying between "70-80% of Gazan territory." He stressed that their aim is to reproduce the same "model of destruction" in southern Lebanon.
All of this occurs despite the agreement signed in June, which provided for a ceasefire and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the south of the country. However, the Israeli Army has continued to carry out attacks in various parts of the region, citing security reasons and the refusal of the Shiite militia party Hezbollah to accept the pact as justification for maintaining its military operations.
On the other hand, in the context of the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran, Katz noted that 35,000 bombs have been dropped on Tehran and stated that they are "absolutely prepared" to attack the Islamic Republic with all their "tremendous force." Furthermore, the minister emphasized that "this time" they will include "energy targets," considering them "fundamental to push Iran back 40 years."