Bulldoze Villages, Build Outpost: Inside Israel's 'Gaza Playbook' In Lebanon

The Israeli military might be slowly turning southern Lebanon -- a Hezbollah stronghold-- "into Gaza", while pressing the war on the Iran-backed group, even as Washington and Tehran are working to end the conflict in the Middle East. Israeli Defence Force (IDF) soldiers have told Israeli newspaper Haaretz their "unofficial" forces are demolishing villages in southern Lebanon in "methods similar to those used in the Gaza Strip".

Israel's Gaza-Playbook In Lebanon

"We're behaving just like we did in Gaza," one army official told the daily. 

According to the report, bulldozers have "raze villages near the border fence to clear space" for building new military outposts, with one combat soldier saying the new buildings appear to be "permanent".

"We're behaving just like we did in Gaza...There's a list of homes to be demolished, and we measure success based on the number of buildings destroyed in a day. It's not clear why so many troops are needed to protect these activities or what the broader goal beyond this is," another soldier said. 

The report also claimed that Israeli soldiers have "advanced to the third line of villages from the border, roughly 20 kilometres south" of Lebanon's Litani River. The development came amid reports of the Israeli army setting up additional outposts in southern Lebanon near the border, with a goal of pushing Hezbollah north of the Litani River.

When Israeli ground operations resumed last month in Lebanon, the IDF had five outposts that had stayed in place after the November 2024 cease-fire agreement in Lebanon. But with the army building new outposts, the number is expected to double soon. 

IDF combat soldiers and officers told Haaretz that these outposts will be used for ground incursions, rocket fire, drones and anti-tank missiles against Hezbollah forces. 

The IDF has denied that there is any official plan to maintain a permanent security zone in Lebanon once the fighting ends. 

However, one combat soldier who spoke with Haaretz said that based on the way the new outposts are being built, they do not appear to be temporary.

"These are permanent outposts that will be manned for a long time," he said. 

"Nobody really knows where this is going. The goal of protecting [northern] communities against direct fire is important, and that is why we embarked on the mission. But there's no answer to the big questions."

Why the Gaza Plan May Not Work in Lebanon

A senior military source, who is fighting in Lebanon, said the IDF is employing the same tactics in Lebanon that it did in Gaza, despite the substantial differences in the topography of the two countries. They opined that the tactic that worked in Gaza may not work in Lebanon. 

"But it looks like the system is operating as if it were the same theatre," an officer said. 

They explained that the Gaza Strip was a relatively flat territory where it was easy to achieve operational control. But Lebanon is full of hills, densely populated villages and complex topography that makes operational control difficult and gives Hezbollah an advantage.

Lebanon's "the topography works to Hezbollah's benefit. It enables them to hit our forces from both near and far," another officer said. 

However, army sources claimed the goals of the Lebanese operation enjoy widespread support among the reservists and that the current operation could develop into the creation of a de facto security zone in southern Lebanon.

Israel, Lebanon Open Direct Track

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to launch direct negotiations, signalling movement on two key fronts in efforts to ease the Middle East conflict. This comes as Washington pushes for an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, fearing it could unravel the fragile two-week cease-fire in its own war with Iran after earlier talks with Tehran in Pakistan failed to produce a breakthrough.

Lebanon was drawn into the broader war when Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of Iran, its key ally, triggering an Israeli ground invasion and strikes that have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than a million.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he hoped the talks would "mark the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people".

A State Department spokesperson later described the discussions as "productive", adding: "All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue."