Israeli press review: Confusion over army's plan in Lebanon Submitted by Nadav Rapaport on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 15:45 Meanwhile, Israel's closed gas rigs are proving costly, while interceptor production capacity is limited Smoke rises from an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, 17 March 2026 (AFP) Off Confusion over Israeli army plan in Lebanon On Monday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army had launched “a ground manoeuvre in Lebanon to remove threats and protect” the residents of northern Israel. Katz said that “hundreds of thousands of Shiite residents of southern Lebanon who have fled or are fleeing their homes will not be allowed to return south of the Litani area until the security of the northern residents is ensured.” But the Israeli media is reporting what appears to be a conflict between public statements regarding the nature of the operation and the operation’s actual intentions. On Monday, Haaretz cited military sources who said that Israeli ground operations are directed at removing Hezbollah operatives from the border area, not stripping the missile threat from Lebanon. The Israeli army sources told Haaretz that the new operation aimed to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure south of the Litani River. According to Israel's Channel 13, the Israeli army has erected 20 outposts in Lebanon, in what the channel said resembled the “Security Zone” policy that guided Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon between 1982 and 2000.  Amos Harel, a military commentator for Haaretz, noted that “Hezbollah’s presence south of the Litani is limited in scope”, and that the group’s remaining operatives there can quickly move north before the Israeli army gets to them. Harel questioned the effectiveness of the new military operation, noting that most of the missiles and drones directed at Israel from Lebanon are fired from north of the Litani. Closed gas rigs proving costly With the war on Iran leading to what some describe as the worst