Israel’s defence minister said troops will remain in a security zone in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed, after Washington warned that a permanent Israeli military presence would breach its commitments.
Israel will not withdraw its forces from a security zone in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday, a day after comments suggesting that Israeli troops could remain in the area indefinitely drew criticism from the United States.
Israel captured parts of southern Lebanon during its latest conflict with Hezbollah and has maintained that its military presence is necessary to protect communities in northern Israel from attacks by the Iran-backed group.
Hezbollah triggered the latest round of hostilities when it opened fire on Israel two days after the United States and Israel began their war against Iran.
The Israeli offensive displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon, most of them from Hezbollah’s predominantly Shi’ite support base.
Israel says troops will stay until Hezbollah threat is removed
During a visit to southern Lebanon on Wednesday, Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had made their position clear.
“We are not withdrawing from this security zone,” Katz said, adding that Israel would “cleanse this area and ensure the security of the northern residents”.
His remarks prompted a response from Washington. A US State Department official said a permanent Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon was inconsistent with the commitments Israel made under a US-backed agreement with the Lebanese government.
Under the agreement, Israeli forces are expected to withdraw progressively as the disarmament of Hezbollah is verified.
“The United States expects all parties to act in a manner consistent with the Framework they agreed to, and Israel clearly stated that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon,” the US official said.
Hezbollah, which was founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, strongly opposes negotiations between Beirut and Israel. The group has also rejected discussions over its weapons until Israeli forces leave Lebanese territory.
Katz orders preparations for prolonged military presence
Katz sought to clarify his position on Thursday, saying Israel’s withdrawal would remain conditional on Hezbollah being disarmed and its threat across Lebanon being eliminated.
“I have instructed the IDF to prepare for an extended presence in the area to protect the combat forces and the communities, until this goal is fully achieved,” he said during a ceremony marking the establishment of an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
The comments come as Netanyahu’s Likud party seeks to reinforce its security credentials ahead of Israel’s October 27 election, the country’s first since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks.
Katz’s position also mirrors Netanyahu’s recent stance on Gaza. On Sunday, the prime minister rejected US President Donald Trump’s latest Gaza plan as “unacceptable” and said Israel would not withdraw until Hamas is disarmed.
The US-brokered Lebanon agreement allows Israeli troops to remain temporarily inside Lebanon while Hezbollah is disarmed and the Lebanese military assumes control over southern areas. The process includes the creation of designated “pilot zones”.
The US State Department said the Lebanese military had begun implementing the first of those zones and that Washington would continue supporting the full implementation of the agreement.
In Beirut, resident Hussam Mneimeh said Israel could not maintain an occupation of Lebanese territory.
He pointed to previous Israeli withdrawals from Lebanon, saying they had ultimately taken place through either political negotiations or war.
With inputs from agencies
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