War in the Middle East: Merz calls for the creation of a security zone in the south of Lebanon

In view of months of attacks by Hezbollah on the north of Israel, Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz has spoken out in favor of creating a “security zone” in the south of Lebanon.

“Here in the north of the State of Israel, very close to the border with Lebanon, you can see the consequences of terror,” said the CDU chairman during a visit to Israel’s northern border, which was initially kept secret for security reasons. Immediately after his visit to the region, there was another rocket alarm in the border town of Kiriat Shmona.

“A kibbutz that is no longer inhabited, a school where no students are taught anymore, a place where a rocket hit, fired a few hundred meters from here, from Lebanon by Hezbollah,” said Merz during his visit in Kibbutz Sasa near the northern border. “That’s the reality, that’s the everyday life of the people who are still here. One can only hope that Israel and its allies will be able to set up a security zone here, far into the south of Lebanon, so that security really returns here “

Tens of thousands left their hometowns

Since the beginning of the Gaza war after the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7th, there have been repeated confrontations between Israel’s army and militant groups such as Hezbollah in the Israeli-Lebanese border region. Tens of thousands of residents left their hometowns in both countries. It is the worst escalation since the second Lebanon war in 2006.

Israel wants to use military and diplomatic pressure to ensure that the Hezbollah militia in the south of Lebanon withdraws behind the Litani River, 30 kilometers from the border – as UN Resolution 1701 at the end of the war stipulates.

Merz sees the possibility of German help together with Great Britain, France, Spain and Italy. The aim is “to ensure that there is a concept here as to how the north of Israel can live in peace again.” First, however, the Israeli government itself must submit proposals. “It all has to be secured militarily and then it has to be so safe from a humanitarian perspective that people can live here.”

Merz supports Israeli actions in Rafah

At the start of his two-day trip, Merz met, among others, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. He supported Israel’s military action against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip and in the southern border town of Rafah.

In an interview with Welt-TV, Merz said about possible plans to evacuate the civilian population in Rafah into tent cities: “We support every measure to protect the civilian population.” More than 28,470 Palestinians have been killed since the war began on October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. According to the UN, around 70 percent of them are women and minors.