One day after the United States and Iran reached an agreement and Hezbollah stopped its attacks, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon to protect Israelis. He said, “We are staying in southern Lebanon to protect the people of Israel, as any self-respecting country would do.” Leiter is also leading the negotiations with the Lebanese government.
The statement came after Defense Minister Israel Katz said the previous night that Israel opposes an IDF withdrawal from Lebanon, responding to Iranian claims that such a pullback was part of the deal with Washington. Katz said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and he are pursuing a clear policy that keeps the IDF in security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, “without time limit,” in order to defend the border and Israeli communities from jihadist groups.
Katz added that the area will be cleared of local residents and all terror infrastructure, above and below ground, including houses in border villages that served as terror outposts. He called this “the main lesson” of the October 7 attacks and said holding territory and security zones is one of the IDF’s biggest achievements in the “war of rebirth” under the political leadership’s direction.
He said Israel will not compromise on its supreme security interests or withdraw from security zones, despite current and future pressure. Katz also warned that if Iran attacks Israel over events in Lebanon, Israel will strike Iran “with full force” and show it the power gap, adding that Israel is committed only to its citizens and the security of the state.
