Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that troops will remain in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed and its threat eliminated, clarifying earlier remarks that appeared to suggest an indefinite occupation and prompted criticism from Washington.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Israel will keep its forces in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed and the group no longer poses a threat, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday, revising the emphasis of comments a day earlier that drew a public rebuke from the United States.
Katz’s latest statement tied Israel’s continued military presence directly to the terms of a U.S.-backed agreement between Israel and Lebanon, which calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal as Hezbollah is disarmed and Lebanese government forces assume control of the south.
The clarification followed remarks Katz made Wednesday during a visit to southern Lebanon, where he appeared to suggest that Israeli troops could remain in the territory indefinitely.
Katz said Wednesday that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been “unequivocally clear” that “we are not withdrawing from this security zone.”
“We will cleanse this area and ensure the security of the northern residents,” Katz added.
Those comments prompted concern from Washington because the agreement negotiated with U.S. involvement does not envision a permanent Israeli military presence in Lebanese territory.
A State Department official said an indefinite occupation would conflict with Israel’s commitments under the framework reached with Lebanon.
“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 U.S. official said in written remarks distributed to journalists.
Katz offered a more conditional formulation Thursday.
Israel would “not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon as long as Hezbollah is not disarmed and the threat of Hezbollah in all of Lebanon is not removed,” he said.
“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,” Katz added.
He made the remarks during a ceremony marking the establishment of an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Israel seized a stretch of southern Lebanon during its war with Hezbollah earlier this year and has argued that a continued military presence is necessary to prevent attacks on northern Israeli communities.
The latest fighting began after Hezbollah opened fire on Israel two days into the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Hezbollah is backed by Tehran and was founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982.
Israel’s military offensive displaced hundreds of thousands of Lebanese residents, many from areas where Hezbollah draws support among Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim population.
The future of Hezbollah’s weapons has become the central obstacle to implementing the withdrawal agreement.
Hezbollah opposes direct negotiations between Beirut and Israel and has rejected discussion of surrendering its weapons before Israeli troops leave Lebanese territory.
Israel has taken the opposite position, insisting that it will not complete its withdrawal until Hezbollah is disarmed and the Lebanese government demonstrates that the group can no longer threaten Israel.
The U.S.-brokered framework attempts to bridge those positions through a gradual process rather than an immediate Israeli departure.
Under the agreement, Israeli forces remain in parts of Lebanon while the Lebanese military moves into designated areas and Hezbollah’s weapons are removed through a process involving what officials have described as “pilot zones.”
The State Department official said Lebanon’s military has begun implementing the first of those zones.
Washington “will continue to support full implementation of that process,” the official said.
Katz’s Thursday statement therefore brought Israel’s public position more closely in line with the framework by presenting the Israeli deployment as conditional on Hezbollah’s disarmament rather than as a permanent territorial presence.
The dispute comes as Israel approaches an Oct. 27 election, the country’s first national vote since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
Netanyahu’s Likud party, to which Katz belongs, is seeking to reinforce its security credentials with voters as the government confronts unresolved conflicts involving Hezbollah and Hamas.
Katz’s position on Lebanon also closely resembles Netanyahu’s recent stance on Gaza.
On Sunday, Netanyahu rejected President Donald Trump’s latest Gaza roadmap as “unacceptable” and said Israeli forces would not withdraw before Hamas is disarmed.
In both Gaza and Lebanon, the Israeli government is arguing that military withdrawal must follow the removal of armed groups it considers a continuing threat rather than precede it.
For Lebanon, that position leaves implementation of the U.S.-backed agreement dependent on whether Hezbollah can be disarmed and whether the Lebanese military can establish effective control over southern areas now occupied by Israeli forces.
The continued Israeli presence remains deeply unpopular among many Lebanese.
Beirut resident Hussam Mneimeh said Israel “cannot remain occupiers.”
“There have been previous experiences … they occupied Lebanon and then withdrew in one way or another, whether through political negotiation or through war,” he said.
For now, Israel is preparing its military for what Katz described as an “extended presence,” while maintaining that the length of that deployment will depend on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the elimination of the threat Israel says the group poses throughout Lebanon.
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