Israel Katz

Of the approximately 470 launchers, fewer than 180 (40%) remain operational, while the rest are severely damaged or destroyed in airstrikes.

Is Israel prepared to occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River on a long-term basis, or is its readiness to hold onto the area a temporary tactic to apply short-term pressure on Hezbollah?

“The Lebanese army lied to the IDF. They deceived Israel. They claimed they had enforced the decision to demilitarize southern Lebanon," one Israeli officer said.

The overall pace of IDF, US attacks is still cooling off overall, the release noted.

Israel’s push to secure its northern border is justified, but rhetoric about the Litani River risks blurring defense with annexation, carrying serious strategic and diplomatic costs.

At a meeting with the military chief of staff, Katz said Israeli forces would "control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani," a river that meets the Mediterranean.

The IDF also located and destroyed a Hezbollah terror tunnel near Mount Dov, along the Israel-Lebanon border in the Upper Galilee.

Israel's defense minister said he ordered "an acceleration in the destruction of Lebanese homes in contact-line villages...in accordance with the model of Beit Hanun and Rafah in Gaza."

Hassan Ali Marwan was previously responsible for the division’s operations, commanding the launch of missiles, UAVs, and rockets toward the State of Israel and IDF troops in southern Lebanon.

Khatib was not your average minister. Appointed by Khamenei in 2021, he was a Shia cleric with deep roots in the security world and a history inside the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).