IDF will remain in control of south Lebanon, Netanyahu tells US

Israeli defense chief says Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon as part of Iran deal, reveals that Netanyahu informed Trump of Jerusalem’s position.

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has informed President Donald Trump that Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon as part of the emerging US-Iran agreement, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday, signaling that Jerusalem will not accept provisions it says could limit Israeli action against Hezbollah.

Katz said he also delivered the message to senior US officials, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, after reports that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding includes understandings connected to Lebanon and a halt to fighting involving Hezbollah.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I are leading a clear policy stating that the IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza without a time limit, in order to protect the border and Israeli communities from jihadist elements,” Katz said. “The area will be cleared of local residents, and all terror infrastructure, above and below ground, including homes in contact-line villages that served as terror outposts, will be destroyed.”

The statement was one of Israel’s clearest public responses to the US-Iran arrangement, which Trump said had been completed and which regional officials have described as including steps to de-escalate fighting beyond Iran itself.

Israeli officials have said Israel is not a party to the agreement and will not be bound by terms that they believe endanger its security.

“Holding the territory and the security zones is one of the IDF’s greatest achievements in the War of Revival, under the decisions and direction of the political echelon,” Katz said.

The dispute centers on whether the US-Iran deal can include understandings on Lebanon, where Israel says it must retain military freedom of action against Hezbollah.

Israeli officials have argued that the IDF’s presence in buffer areas is needed to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing attack positions near the border after months of fighting.

“Therefore, we oppose an IDF withdrawal from Lebanon, despite all the existing pressure and the pressure that will still come,” Katz said. “Prime Minister Netanyahu made this clear to U.S. President Trump and other senior American officials, and I also made it clear yesterday to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.”

The comments came after Trump criticized Israeli strikes in Lebanon, saying they complicated efforts to finalize the Iran agreement. The emerging deal has drawn concern in Israel over possible sanctions relief for Tehran and over any arrangement that could restrain Israeli operations against Hezbollah.

An Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post that Israel would not withdraw from southern Lebanon as part of the US-Iran deal despite Iranian demands. The report also said an IDF source indicated that if Hezbollah respects the ceasefire, Israel would not carry out attacks in Lebanon.

Katz’s statement suggested that Israel intends to maintain the security zones regardless of outside pressure and regardless of the broader diplomatic track with Tehran.

“If there are elements in the opposition who challenge this security concept and support an IDF withdrawal, let them stand up and say so, so the public can judge between the positions,” he said.

“We will not compromise on Israel’s supreme security interest and the defense of our citizens, and we will not withdraw from the security zones. If Iran attacks Israel over the events in Lebanon, we will attack it with full force and make the balance of power very clear.”

The US-Iran memorandum has not been formally published, and different parties have described its terms differently.

Reports have said it includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a temporary diplomatic framework for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and regional de-escalation measures.

Iranian and regional accounts have indicated that Lebanon is part of the broader ceasefire framework, while Israeli officials have rejected any outside attempt to require an IDF pullback.