Israel says it won't withdraw from southern Lebanon

Israel has said that it will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, following the announcement of the US-Iran deal, which includes the termination of all hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I are leading a clear policy that determines that the IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, without any time limit, to protect, from there, the border and Israeli communities against jihadist elements,” The Times of Israel quoted Defense Minister Israel Katz as saying.

He said the security zones will be “cleared of local residents, and all terror infrastructure, above and below ground, including the houses in the contact-line villages that served as terror outposts, will be destroyed.”

Katz added that holding onto the security zones is “among the IDF’s greatest achievements” in the war, and therefore, “we oppose an IDF withdrawal from Lebanon, despite all the existing pressures and those that will still come.”

“Prime Minister Netanyahu made these points clear to US President Trump and to other senior American officials, and I also made this clear yesterday to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth,” he said, adding that the IDF also supports holding onto the security zone in Lebanon.

“We will not compromise on Israel’s security interests and the protection of our citizens, and we will not withdraw from the security zones,” Katz said.

Katz also warned that “if Iran attacks Israel because of events in Lebanon, we will strike it with full force.”

“We are committed only to our citizens and to the security of the State of Israel,” he added.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has been mediating talks between the United States and Iran, has said that Washington and Tehran will sign a peace deal on Friday in Switzerland. He said that both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.