TEL AVIV (dpa-AFX) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited southern Lebanon and announced a continuation of fighting with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. “The war continues, including within the security zone in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said, according to his office. He was in the southern section of the neighboring country together with Defense Minister Israel Katz and Chief of General Staff Ejal Zamir. The exact location was not specified.
Israel’s army has “thwarted the threat of invasion from Lebanon thanks to this security zone,” said the head of government. He also spoke of “great successes” in the fight against rocket fire from Lebanon into Israel’s north, but said there was “still work to do.”
Defense Minister Katz announced last month that Israel wanted to control the area up to the Litani River in southern Lebanon until further notice. After the first Lebanon war in 1982, Israel had already set up a so-called security zone in the south of Lebanon. It was not until 2000 that the last Israeli soldiers withdrew from the area after continued losses./le/DP/he
