TEL AVIV, March 31. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will not withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Israeli military will control a security zone up to the Litani River even after it ends the operation against the Shiite Hezbollah movement, while Lebanese houses near the Israeli border will be destroyed, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned.

"At the end of the operation, the IDF will position itself in a security zone inside Lebanon - on the defensive line against anti-tank missiles - and will control the entire area up to the Litani River," Ynet quoted Israel’s defense chief as saying. "All houses in the villages adjacent to the border in Lebanon will be destroyed according to the Rafah and Beit Hanoun model in [northern] Gaza, in order to remove once and for all the threats adjacent to the border from above the residents of the north," Katz added.

Also, he said, "the return of more than 600,000 residents of southern Lebanon who evacuated northward will be absolutely prohibited from returning south of the Litani, until the security and safety of residents of the north is ensured.".