While Israel never actually ended the occupation that they launched in 2024, they’ve expanded their attacks in southern Lebanon today to the point that they are declaring it a new “limited” ground invasion of the neighboring country.
Airstrikes and ground clashes were reported around the city of Khiam, and Israeli ground troops have reportedly been expelling civilians from more areas in the new theater of operations. The IDF has a standing evacuation order for the entire south of Lebanon south of the Litani River, which encompasses multiple cities and hundreds of thousands of residents.
Khiam is located on a hilltop overlooking Upper Galilee in southern Lebanon, and was a major hub for the Israeli occupation in the past, as well as a common site of resistance against Israeli presence in the country in decades past.
White phosphorous munitions deployed over Khiam | Image from X
Defense Minister Israel Katz suggested that the military operation was aimed at Lebanon’s Shi’ite minority, declaring that Shi’ites displaced south of the Litani River as well as those displaced in Beirut would not be allowed to return to their homes until he is confident that the safety of people in northern Israel is assured.
Former IDF chief and opposition MP Benny Gantz endorsed Katz’s position, albeit without sectarian limitations. Gantz argued that all of Lebanon should be forcibly evacuated “until there is an alternative option.”
While broad, open-ended evacuation orders were already of dubious legality under international law the specific prohibition on Shi’ites being allowed to return to their homes is a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and likely multiple crimes under the Rome Statute.
Since the Israeli War on Lebanon began two weeks ago, at least 886 people have been killed, including 111 children. 38 of the slain were also health workers. The number of wounded is at 2,141. Over a million people are believed to have been displaced so far, though exact figures are difficult to reckon.
