Israel’s far-right finance minister says Litani River must be ‘the new Israeli border’, as attacks on Lebanon ramp up.Israel’s far-right minister of finance, Bezalel Smotrich, has urged his country to annex southern Lebanon, as the military has destroyed bridges and homes in an intensified assault on the area.In an Israeli radio interview on Monday, Smotrich said that the bombardment of Lebanon “needs to end with a different reality entirely”, which includes a “change of Israel’s borders”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“I say here definitively … in every room and in every discussion, too: The new Israeli border must be the Litani,” he said, referring to the Litani River, a critical waterway that cuts through southern Lebanon, about 30km (19 miles) from the border with Israel.Smotrich’s comments come as Israel continues to carry out deadly attacks on Lebanon, striking residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure, which the United Nations has said may amount to war crimes.Intensified Israeli attacks began in early March after Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israeli territory following the start of the US and Israel’s war on Iran on February 28.In addition to air strikes, the Israeli military has pushed deeper into Lebanese territory as part of a ground invasion that Israel says aims to root out Hezbollah fighters.The Lebanese armed group has continued to fire into northern Israel while clashing with Israeli troops on the ground in Lebanon.The United Nations and humanitarian groups say the conflict is having dire consequences on Lebanese civilians, with more than 1.2 million people forced out of their homes amid the violence. Advertisement Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,039 people, including 118 children, across Lebanon since early March, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Hea …
