JERUSALEM, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel is creating an expanded buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
The goal is to push Hezbollah forces further from the border, Netanyahu said while speaking to heads of northern municipalities near the Lebanon border.
"The issue of dismantling Hezbollah is something we are currently dealing with," he said. "We are determined to do everything to fundamentally change the situation in Lebanon."
His remarks signal a possible long-term military presence in southern Lebanon. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday forces will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, a "security zone." Earlier this week, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for establishing the Litani River as Israel's new border.
Earlier in March, Lebanese leaders publicly proposed negotiations and accepted a French-drafted framework as a basis for talks with Israel. Israel has not officially responded.
Israel has bombed bridges over the Litani River, destroyed homes and carried out large-scale airstrikes in southern Lebanon, displacing hundreds of thousands of Lebanese people.
The deadly cross-border fighting resumed on March 2 after Hezbollah launched rockets in retaliation for Israel's killing of Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Netanyahu also suggested that a ceasefire with Iran, recently suggested by U.S. President Donald Trump, may not be imminent, saying Israel's military campaign against Iran "is still in full swing, contrary to what is being reported in the media." ■
