Recently, the IDF deployed approximately 700 tons of explosives to systematically obliterate underground infiltration tunnels and subterranean networks designed for potential cross-border attacks.
By Hezy Laing
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to construct permanent outposts and infrastructure across southern Lebanon, signaling a dramatic shift toward long-term territorial entrenchment rather than temporary deployment.
After the October 7th massacre, the Israeli public insists the IDF cease its policy of rapid retreats after conquering areas used for terror activities. They want permanent buffer zones between Israeli civilians and Arab terror groups.
Speaking alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Katz emphasized that the military will not vacate captured strategic positions—spanning approximately 230 square miles of Lebanese territory—until the Hezbollah organization is entirely disarmed across Lebanon and security for northern communities in the Galilee is guaranteed
Engineering corps and civilian contractors utilizing heavy machinery, including D9 armored bulldozers and excavators, have actively begun transforming captured ground into fortified forward bases.
Notable construction is underway in areas such as Khiam, situated five kilometers north of the international border, where new fortified perimeters, trenches, and earthen berms have replaced the remnants of the former Khiam Prison.
Further deep within the theater, operations near the Beaufort Castle and the Shqeif heights have intensified.
Recently, the military deployed approximately 700 tons of explosives to systematically obliterate underground infiltration tunnels and subterranean networks designed for potential cross-border attacks.
This strategic permanence defies expectations tied to a US-sponsored framework agreement, aligning instead with explicit orders from Katz to raze select border structures and duplicate the intensive operational architecture previously utilized in Gaza’s northern and southern sectors.
Lebanese citizens remain barred from returning to sectors south of the Litani River, which the IDF treats as an active combat and security buffer zone.
Katz reiterated that operational freedom remains unconstrained by any foreign timelines or prospective diplomatic pressures from Washington, ensuring that the IDF retains permanent military command from the Mediterranean coastline to the eastern ridges.
