India, March 27 -- As Israel trades fire with Hezbollah, calls for mass evacuations and sends ground troops deeper into Lebanon, its leaders have hinted at a long-term occupation modelled on the devastating conquest of much of Gaza after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack.

Israel says it needs to establish a zone of control in the depopulated south to shield its own northern communities, which have faced daily rocket attacks since the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group joined the wider war.

Many in Lebanon fear that could mean the open-ended displacement of over a million people, the flattening of their homes and a loss of territory. Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said this week that it would create a "security zone" up to the Li...