Third week of ground invasion: Israel's intent on creating a buffer zone deep into Lebanon

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

Three weeks have passed since the beginning of Israel's ground invasion into South Lebanon, with the claimed objective of returning northern residents to their settlements and dismantling Hezbollah's infrastructure in border villages along the frontier. 

The Israeli forces have conducted repeated incursions and withdrawals, engaging in clashes without establishing fixed positions.

However, a pattern reminiscent of Gaza has emerged in southern Lebanon. Entire neighborhoods have been rigged with explosives, detonated, and bulldozed—a strategy replicated in various border villages. 

Whole areas have been leveled and reshaped along the Houla and Meiss El Jabal line, such as in the villages of Mhaibib and Yaroun. Mosques have also been rigged and destroyed, as seen in Yaroun and al-Dhayra. 

These operations come in addition to the large-scale destruction witnessed in these border villages over the past year. Beneath the devastating scenes of destruction, Israel's aim appears to be discovering Hezbollah's tunnels. 

The scale of the destruction signals that this war is different from the wars of 1982 and 2006. 

Israel seems intent on creating a buffer zone by altering the landscape of these villages and making it exceedingly difficult for residents to return.

The buffer zone, which currently stretches up to three kilometers deep, serves as an area for Israeli ground forces to advance and potentially push deeper into Lebanese territory. This zone also aims to prevent Hezbollah from launching further rocket attacks, which continue to strike Israel.

Will Israel's aggressive tactics and bulldozing be confined to the border strip, or will the buffer zone be expanded, as Israeli forces target the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL, with open calls to extend the buffer to five kilometers from the border?