Can Israel’s ‘security zone’ in Lebanon teach us about Gaza?

Today in Gaza, Israel is operating in several areas. In the south, the focus is on Rafah, the offensive of which began on May 7. In Jabalya in the north, the 98th division is also uprooting terrorist infrastructure. Meanwhile, in the Netzarim corridor, two brigades are securing an area south of Gaza City, a unique area in Gaza. It is the one area the IDF has continually operated in since October and an area that has consistently been cleared of terrorists; the IDF can operate here more easily because Hamas cannot return.

Some analysts have wondered if this might be a prelude to the management of the war with Hamas – similar to the way terror threats in the West Bank are confronted. It is also worth asking whether this area might become similar to the security zone Israel once ran in southern Lebanon from the 1980s to 2000. Saudi Arabia-based English daily Arab News asked this question back in December about Israel’s operations in Gaza, and the question is even more relevant now.

The Netzarim corridor is important because it splits northern from southern Gaza. It was captured in the early days of the ground maneuver in Gaza in late October-early November. The 36th Division secured the area first, and other units later rotated in and out. The Nahal brigade played a key role in this, followed by the 679th Yiftah Reserve Armored Brigade and 2nd Carmeli Reserve Infantry Brigade have been active there in the past few weeks.

As units rotate in and out, the corridor is changing. Roads and other improvements are taking place; terrorist infrastructure is being uprooted. On Monday, the IDF said that “the 679th Brigade Combat Team has been operating in the Gaza Strip for the past few weeks. Over the past week, the troops have been operating in the area of Sabra in the center of the Gaza Strip, aiming to destroy terrorist infrastructure, eliminate terrorists, and locate and destroy terror tunnels.” This important operation saw IDF engineers destroy an 800-meter tunnel that was 18 m. deep.

If lessons Netzarim and other aspects of Gaza could be gleaned from the Lebanon war, the question is what might they be? In 2022, the Israel Affairs journal sought answers to this, with a call for research papers noting that “the 15 years of fighting in the Security Zone were rarely mentioned within Israeli society, let alone in the academic sphere.

Only in recent years has the Israeli public become aware of this period after many soldiers who served in the Security Zone began sharing their memories through books and social media. The campaign to raise awareness of the period successfully ended when in March 2021, Israel officially recognized this period as one of warfare. This special issue aims to interdisciplinary bridge the gap in the academic discourse regarding the war in the Security Zone.”

Israel’s security zone in southern Lebanon

Israel controlled a piece of southern Lebanon that was designed to keep terrorists away from the border. The zone included up to 150,000 civilians in numerous villages, including Lebanese Christians, Muslims, and others. This is starkly different from Gaza, where there are some 2 million people.

Israel has eschewed operating among civilians in Gaza, ruling over them, or even being among them, with heavy forces. It calls on civilians to evacuate areas of Gaza before it operates. In this sense, is it hard to see how Netzarim or other areas become similar to Lebanon at all. In addition, in Lebanon, Israel had local allies in the South Lebanon Army, a paramilitary group with thousands of members. The IDF footprint in southern Lebanon was relatively light, with up to several thousand troops or less.

These major differences mean that currently, what Israel is doing in Gaza is very different from Lebanon. However, there may be learning experiences that could help inform what Jerusalem does next. So far, Israel is searching for a strategy. One issue that the IDF faces, if it remains in permanent locations in Gaza, will be that Hamas will seek to learn from this and target the forces. Hamas will also innovate and change its tactics, which the IDF is currently winning in.

It wins the battles, while Hamas seeks to win the long war. The question facing the planners in Netzarim and elsewhere is how to change that model.

In Southern Lebanon, when the IDF entered, the locals generally greeted Israel positively, and when it left in 2000 Hezbollah took over. Israel entered Gaza with Hamas in control; the goal should be to leave Gaza with Hamas no longer in control, not with it empowered.

Seth Frantzman is the author of Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machine, Artificial Intelligence and the Battle for the Future (Bombardier 2021) and an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies.