Repeating the Gaza Pattern in South Lebanon: Drawing the “Yellow Line” and Designating a Buffer Zone

48 hours after the ceasefire, the Israeli army extended the disastrous Gaza pattern to southern Lebanon by drawing the “Yellow Line” and defining a buffer zone.

News ID: 87690

Date: 19 April 2026 - 15:07

TEHRAN (Defapress) - The Israeli army repeated its military pattern in the Gaza Strip once again by officially announcing the creation of a buffer zone called the “Yellow Line” in southern Lebanon. This action occurred just two days after the start of a ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday and raised serious concerns about the sustainability of the agreement.

In a statement on Saturday, the Israeli army said that its forces south of the Yellow Line had identified armed individuals who had violated the ceasefire and approached Israeli positions from the north of the line, posing an immediate threat. This is the first time the Israeli army has officially used the term “Yellow Line” on Lebanese soil.

The line, similar to the one in place since the Gaza ceasefire in October 2025, divides the territory into two parts: an eastern part under full Israeli military control and a western part with fewer restrictions for local residents. Accordingly, the Zionist military shoots anyone who approaches the line and has also destroyed hundreds of homes in areas under its control.

Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh from Ramallah called this policy "the continuation of the Gaza-building of southern Lebanon." According to her, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the destruction of Lebanese border villages based on the model of Beit Hanoun and Rafah; areas that today are practically nothing more than ruins.

Odeh stressed that the regime's primary goal is to destroy homes and villages in southern Lebanon. The Israeli defense minister also considers Shiite villages to be equivalent to Hezbollah's infrastructure and considers them to be a threat equal to Hamas in Gaza.

However, despite the ceasefire, Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon have not stopped. On Saturday, Israeli artillery targeted the towns of Beit Lif, Qantara, and Touline, and Israeli forces destroyed several houses in the area. The Israeli military described the operation as “defensive” and in response to an “imminent threat,” stressing that measures to address immediate threats were not subject to the ceasefire’s limitations.

In contrast, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem warned in a televised statement on Saturday evening that the ten-day ceasefire could only continue if both sides fully adhered to it. “The ceasefire means a complete cessation of all hostilities. Because we do not trust this enemy, the resistance fighters will remain on the field with their finger on the trigger and will respond appropriately to any violation of the ceasefire. There is no unilateral ceasefire; both sides must adhere to it,” he said.

Sheikh Naim Qassem called for the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory and listed the next steps as follows: the release of prisoners, the return of refugees to their border homes, and then the implementation of a large-scale reconstruction campaign with Arab and international support. He emphasized that Hezbollah is ready to cooperate with the Lebanese government based on national sovereignty and the prevention of sedition.

The Israeli army, while officially announcing the creation of a buffer zone called the "Yellow Line" in southern Lebanon, has once again repeated its military pattern in the Gaza Strip, while simultaneously continuing to violate the ceasefire against Lebanon and Hezbollah, and we are witnessing the continuation of attacks and aggressions by the occupying and illegitimate army of this child-killing regime on residential areas in Lebanon.