Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced that together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he instructed the army to prepare for new military attacks against Iran.
Speaking on Dr. Gadi Taub's podcast "Threshold Guardian," Katz also touched on Iran's nuclear program. Claiming that the Tehran administration has not rebuilt the nuclear facilities hit in attacks carried out jointly with the US, Katz said, "They first need to make a decision to restart it, and they have not made such a decision yet."
24 Lebanese Villages Wiped Off the Map, Katz Says
The Israeli Defense Minister also described the scale of operations in southern Lebanon. "I said that southern Lebanon would turn into Gaza and that we would apply the Rafah model," Katz said, arguing that the approximately 200,000 civilians displaced from the area would not be able to return home "for a very long time."
Katz stated that the Israeli army systematically destroyed villages with bulldozers and explosives, saying, "Ninety percent of the homes are now gone. Between 15,000 and 20,000 houses were razed." Saying that 24 Lebanese villages along the border line were wiped off the map, Katz added, "There are no civilians there now. Only soldiers and destroyed houses remain."
Occupation Expands in Gaza
Addressing the situation in the Gaza Strip, Katz said, "We are in the heart of Gaza. Not only are we still in Gaza, but our presence there is expanding rather than shrinking."
Noting that the occupied areas have exceeded 60 percent, Katz said, "We will clearly and unequivocally continue to stay there. These security zones are now part of Israel's national security policy."
Regarding the destruction in the city of Rafah, Katz said, "Rafah was razed to the ground. There is no place for them to return to. Those who remain are trapped in tunnels. We later applied the same model in Beit Hanoun, Khan Younis, and other places."
