Even as the US and Iran try to consolidate the ceasefire, Israel is seizing more territory from neighboring countries, preparing for a prolonged conflict in the Middle East region, Reuters reported, BTA writes.
The creation of “buffer zones“ Israel's military offensive in Gaza, Syria and now Lebanon marks a strategic shift since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks - one that puts Israel in a near-permanent state of war, six Israeli military and defense officials told Reuters.
The approach also reflects a reality that officials say has become increasingly clear after two and a half years of conflict: Iran's spiritual leadership, the Lebanese group “Hezbollah“ in Lebanon, the Palestinian group “Hamas“ in Gaza and armed groups throughout the region cannot be completely eliminated.
“Israeli leaders have concluded that they are in a perpetual war against adversaries who must be intimidated and even dispersed,“ said Nathan Brown of the “Carnegie Endowment for International Peace“.
Yesterday, the United States and Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire while they negotiate a comprehensive end to the war that broke out on February 28. Israel agreed to halt its attacks on Iran but said it would not end its campaign against the Iranian-backed group “Hezbollah“.
“Hezbollah“ entered the war on March 2, firing rockets at Israel, which then launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon to establish a buffer zone along the Litani River, a wide swath of land that covers about 8 percent of Lebanon.
Israel has ordered hundreds of thousands of residents in the area to leave their homes and is in the early stages of demolishing houses in Shiite Muslim villages believed to have been used by Hezbollah to store weapons or prepare attacks. A senior military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters, said the aim was to clear a zone stretching 5 to 10 kilometers across the border, putting Israeli border towns out of range of Hezbollah rocket and mortar fire. In some Lebanese villages near the border, Israeli forces have found evidence that nearly 90 percent of homes contain weapons or equipment linking them to Hezbollah, the official said. This means that homes are being viewed as enemy military positions that must be destroyed, according to the official, who noted that many villages in southern Lebanon are located on hills, giving them direct visibility to Israeli towns or military positions.
The use of buffer zones represents a new security doctrine that states that "border communities cannot be protected by the border," said Assaf Orion, a retired Israeli brigadier general and former head of military strategy. "Israel is no longer waiting for the attack to come," he added. “It sees an emerging threat and attacks it preemptively.“
Once the buffer zone against “Hezbollah“ is secured, Israel will have seized or occupied territory in Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, where it continues to control more than half of the territory after a ceasefire with “Hamas“ in October. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is to withdraw from all of the territory of the Strip while “Hamas“ disarms, although the chances of that happening in the near future seem slim.
“We have established security zones deep beyond our borders,“ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message released by his office on March 31. “In Gaza, more than half of the territory of the Strip. In Syria, from the top of Mount Hermon to the Yarmouk River. In Lebanon, a vast buffer zone that prevents the threat of invasion and keeps anti-tank fire away from our settlements.“
The plan for the Lebanese buffer zone has not yet been presented to Netanyahu's cabinet, according to a cabinet member and two officials.
The Israeli army referred questions about the buffer zones to Netanyahu's cabinet, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DEFENSE MINISTER DRAWS OUTLINES PLANS TO DESTROY BORDER VILLAGES
Israel has long controlled territory beyond its borders, including the occupied West Bank and Gaza, as well as the Golan Heights in southern Syria, territories captured during the 1967 regional war.
Israel subsequently annexed the Golan Heights in 1981. Today, hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, along with some 3 million Palestinians, who see the territory as the core of their future state.
For many displaced Lebanese and Palestinians, Israel's seizure of their land and destruction of their villages are a sign of further territorial expansion - an interpretation supported by the rhetoric of some far-right members of Netanyahu's cabinet.
Bezalel Smotrich, Netanyahu's finance minister, said in March that Israel should extend its borders to the Litani River. He has made similar comments about Gaza, saying the territory should be annexed and settled by Israelis.
Another Israeli military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing planned military action, said the Litani River would not become a new border. Instead, the buffer zone would be controlled by ground forces that would conduct operations as needed, without necessarily maintaining a permanent presence on the river.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz compared the devastation in southern Lebanon to the scorched earth policy used against “Hamas“ in Gaza, which has led to the depopulation of entire towns. "The village houses near the border, which effectively serve as permanent outposts for Hezbollah, will be demolished, following the model of the southern towns of Rafah and Khan Younis in Gaza, to eliminate the threat to Israeli towns," he said on March 31.
Eran Shamir-Borer, an international law expert at the Israel Democracy Institute, said the destruction of civilian property is largely illegal, with exceptions that include property used for military purposes. “Mass demolition of homes in southern Lebanon that is not based on individual analysis would be illegal”, he added.
ISRAEL IS SKEPTIC ABOUT LONG-TERM PEACE AGREEMENT
Israeli leaders' preference for a strategy based on the use of buffer zones is the result of decades of failed attempts to conclude long-term peace agreements with the Palestinians, Lebanon and Syria.
The Israeli public is deeply skeptical of negotiated peace agreements with the Palestinians. A 2025 Pew Research Center survey found (Pew Research Center) found that only 21% of Israelis believe that Israel and a possible future Palestinian state could coexist peacefully.
A survey by the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv found that only 26% of Israelis believe that the ceasefire in Gaza since October will lead to many years of peace. The survey also showed that most expect a rapid resumption of fighting.
Ofer Shelah, director of the institute's research program, said that in the absence of a negotiated peace agreement with Lebanon, the existence of a buffer zone in the north would prevent the threat of attacks or a ground invasion by "Hezbollah" forces. He also pointed out that the increased number of soldiers needed to patrol the frontlines in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria and the occupied West Bank would ultimately put the military under great strain. “Ultimately, we would be better off returning to the international border and maintaining a mobile active defense across the border without having permanent posts there,“ added Shelah.