JERUSALEM — Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed Tuesday that the military’s plan to seize approximately 10 percent of Lebanese territory is a strictly temporary security measure that will remain in effect until the land is formally rebranded as a permanent defensive frontier.

Speaking from a briefing room where maps of southern Lebanon had already been updated with Hebrew sub-titles, Katz explained that the control of a 30-kilometer swathe of land up to the Litani River was necessary to ensure that displaced Israeli residents do not have to look at Lebanon ever again.

"We are creating a defensive space," Katz said, gesturing to reports confirming the demolition of five bridges and hundreds of civilian homes. "By removing the infrastructure, the houses, and the people who lived in them, we are ensuring that the area is perfectly safe for the eventual construction of whatever we decide to call the area once we stop calling it an occupation."

The Ministry noted that the strategy follows the successful 'Gaza Model' applied in Rafah and Beit Hanoun, where security was achieved by reducing the regional population density to zero. Under this framework, the term 'temporary' is defined by the military as the duration of time between the initial invasion and the printing of new official maps.

When asked about the November 2024 ceasefire agreement that explicitly required a full withdrawal, a spokesperson for the Documentation Unit noted that the military had technically withdrawn from the idea of withdrawing.

"The previous deadlines were merely suggestions provided by the international community for our amusement," the spokesperson stated, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We remained on five strategic hilltops past the February 2025 deadline to ensure the Lebanese army was ready. Since they seemed too ready, we decided to expand the zone to the Litani River to give them more time to practice."

Local officials in northern Israel welcomed the move, noting that a buffer zone is only effective if it contains several demolished villages and at least one diverted river.

"Our goal is a fundamental change," said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has already begun drafting a 50-year plan for the 'temporary' zone. "The Litani must become the new border, mostly because it is a very convenient place to stop building fences and start building nature preserves for our citizens."

At press time, the Ministry was reportedly looking for a synonym for 'annexation' that sounds more like a humanitarian logistics project.