A small river has become a flashpoint in the broader regional conflict: The course of the 145-kilometre (90 mi) Litani River in Lebanon represents the front line of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
The Litani River also highlights the current weakness of international law. Despite growing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the mandate of long-standing UN mission UNIFIL – which has deployed international peacekeeping forces to the border region since 1978 – is set to expire at the end of the year.
Israeli evacuation order
Iran-backed Hezbollah is fighting against Israeli forces in Lebanon amid the US-Israeli war with Iran. Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Germany, and other countries.
Hezbollah fired several drones and rockets at Israel in early March. According to the militia’s official statement, the purpose of the airstrike was retaliation for the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Just a few days before this, on February 28, Israel and America had carried out air strikes on Iran.
Hezbollah responded with drone and rocket attacks, which Israel responded with airstrikes. According to Lebanese health officials, the attacks have killed nearly 2,000 people and displaced some 1.2 million. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) also urged the population in the south of the country to leave the area and seek safety north of the Litani River.
According to the Israeli military, several bridges were destroyed to cut off Hezbollah’s supply routes.
Israeli government officials have repeatedly stressed that they want to eliminate the threat to the Israeli population posed by Hezbollah’s drone and rocket attacks in the north of the country.
‘Litani should be the new frontier’
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on March 24 that Israeli forces would “control the remaining bridges and security zone up to Litani.” This river is about 30 kilometers north of the Israeli border.
Katz said Israel planned to create a defensive buffer and, in a warning to the civilian population, posted an
Furthermore, he said the IDF was tasked to “accelerate the destruction of Lebanese homes in border villages to prevent threats to Israeli settlements – following the model of Beit Hanun and Rafah in Gaza.”
According to Israeli media reports, Israeli military operations at the two locations in the Gaza Strip mentioned by Katz have resulted in large-scale destruction.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told the Israeli online newspaper israel time That Israel should extend its border with Lebanon to the Litani River. “Litany should be our new border with the state of Lebanon,” he said on 24 March.
A recent analysis by NGOs international crisis group Said that “Israeli officials have indicated that once given the all-clear, they intend to occupy at least a 30 km deep strip north of the border.”
It says that the country is adopting an aggressive stance only to avoid angering the Trump administration. The administration would like Israel to continue working with the United States against Iran rather than being tied to Lebanon.
disputed history
Historically, the Litani River has played a significant role in the Israeli–Lebanese conflict. The events during the Israeli military’s “Operation Litani” in March 1978 were particularly tragic.
Under this military operation, the Israeli army invaded Lebanon with 25,000 soldiers and captured the area south of the Litani River. 1,000 to 2,000 people were killed, and according to Lebanese government estimates, about 280,000 people, mostly Shias, were displaced. Later a large number of people returned to the border area.
The attack was in retaliation for an attack by the Fatah group on March 11, 1978. At the time, the Palestinian party operated primarily as an armed wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and used southern Lebanon as a base for attacks on northern Israel. An attack on a coastal road in northern Israel killed 37 people and injured 76 others.
This increase led to the establishment of the United Nations peacekeeping mission UNIFIL, which was launched by the United Nations Security Council in the same month. Headquartered in Nakura, Lebanon, the mission was intended to help establish a buffer zone between the Litani River and the border with Israel.
Following the 2006 Lebanon War, the UNIFIL mandate was expanded by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. According to the UN resolution, Hezbollah was to retreat to the Litani River. However, Israel and the US repeatedly accused the peacekeepers of failing to push Hezbollah back far enough.
Contributions to UNIFIL also decreased due to deep cuts in US funding to the United Nations and humanitarian assistance announced in 2025. Combined with political pressure from the US and Israel, this resulted in the UN Mission not being extended by the Security Council and hence ending. end of 2026.
Many in Lebanon now fear that the withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces could lead to further displacement and ultimately border changes.
Instead of UN peacekeeping forces, Israeli forces could control the security zone up to the Litani River, in keeping with Israeli Defense Minister Katz’s pledge of “quick” destruction.
This article was originally written in German.