Israel's defense minister says more than 60 villages and 23,000 homes in southern Lebanon are destroyed, calling it 'the Gaza model' being implemented

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said more than 60 villages in southern Lebanon have been destroyed and described the approach as “the Gaza model,” adding: “This is the model we are implementing.”

Katz said the destruction extends from villages adjacent to the border through the entire security zone up to the Yellow Line, an area he put at 700 square kilometers. He said all the villages had been wiped out and 23,000 houses destroyed or demolished.

He also said that everything underground, including the tunnels, had been destroyed. Katz said there were no residents there and that 200,000 residents were outside.