Rejecting United States President Donald Trump’s predictions of an impending pullout, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Thursday that Israeli forces will maintain a military presence in southern Lebanon and security zones across the region until Hezbollah is completely disarmed.
Defense Minister Israel Katz pushed back against Washington’s diplomatic trajectory on Thursday, making it clear that Israeli forces will remain stationed in security zones across Lebanon for as long as necessary. The announcement directly countered comments made a day earlier by United States President Donald Trump, who claimed at the NATO summit in Ankara that Israel intended to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon under the framework of a newly brokered regional understanding.
We did not ask anyone’s permission to enter Lebanon, and we do not need permission to stay in Lebanon,
Katz stated, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz’s remarks to the press. Katz asserted that maintaining an operational footprint in hostile territory is a core necessity of the nation’s security doctrine, insisting that the military must operate on the enemy’s side of the border to protect northern communities.
Disputed Withdrawals and Interim US-Iran Deal Tensions
The divergence between Jerusalem and Washington highlights deep diplomatic friction surrounding an interim deal between the United States and Iran. While international officials announced that negotiators plan to meet in Geneva to sign a preliminary pact aimed at ending the conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Israeli leadership views the emerging framework with severe apprehension.
Katz expanded his stance earlier in the week during the MUNI EXPO 2026 conference hosted by the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel, confirming that Israel will apply a unified security model across northern fronts in Lebanon and Syria. According to regional reporting on the interim deal, over the past two and a half years, Israel has established control over roughly 1,000 square kilometers of territory across Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria.
Katz maintained that displaced residents from northern towns cannot return while the security zones remain vulnerable, noting that numerous residents will stay out of the designated areas to prevent the reestablishment of militant infrastructure.
Two hundred thousand residents will not return. There are no civilians and no terrorists. In the past, when there was civilian presence in security zones, there were explosives and attacks against soldiers — that is why we do not allow it.
Israel Katz, Defense Minister
Political Backlash and Domestic Condemnation in Israel
The diplomatic maneuvering has triggered sharp criticism from across the Israeli political spectrum. Far-right members of the ruling coalition fiercely denounced the arrangement, arguing that external agreements compromise national security objectives.
Trump’s agreement does not bind us… we are not party to this agreement.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, National Security Minister
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich echoed those concerns on his official channels, characterizing the emerging diplomatic pact as detrimental to the country’s strategic posture and calling for continued unilateral action against the Iranian regime and its regional proxies. Opposition figures added their voices to the chorus of disapproval. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called the diplomatic turn a dangerous development, while Yair Golan, head of the Democrats Party, argued that the framework undermined hard-won military achievements.
Strategic Enforcement and Unresolved Regional Strakes
Despite international pressure and optimistic assessments from Washington regarding a regional settlement, Israeli defense officials remain steadfast in their operational parameters. Katz maintained that complete coordination exists between the government and the Israel Defense Forces, emphasizing that military and diplomatic pressure will continue to be leveraged until Hezbollah is entirely disarmed.
As international signatories prepare for upcoming diplomatic sessions in Geneva and verify the broader framework of the US-Iran pact, the immediate operational reality on the ground in southern Lebanon remains unchanged. Israeli forces continue to hold captured territory, bound by a defense doctrine that rejects external timelines for withdrawal.
