More than 60 villages have been wiped out in the country’s south, where the IDF is threatening to establish a permanent military presence

Israel is threatening to turn its occupation of southern Lebanon into a permanent military presence while pursuing the so-called “Gaza model.” RT correspondent Steve Sweeney reports from Beirut on the destruction of entire villages, mass displacement and efforts to secure an Israeli withdrawal.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared over the weekend that troops would not withdraw from areas they currently control and warned that the military could advance further towards Nabatieh and the Litani River if Hezbollah launches additional attacks on Israel.

Katz claimed that more than 60 villages and 23,000 homes had been destroyed across an Israeli-controlled area of approximately 700 square km in southern Lebanon and that around 200,000 residents had been displaced.

“All the villages have been wiped out,” he said.…