Amid the fighting against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that "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. In addition, 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, and all houses in the villages adjacent to the border in Lebanon will be destroyed according to the Rafah and Beit Hanoun model in Gaza, in order to remove once and for all the threats adjacent to the border from above the residents of the north."