Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz stated on Wednesday that the Israel Defense Forces would remain indefinitely in what he termed “security zones” inside Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, with no timeline for withdrawal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting troops in southern Lebanon a day earlier, reinforced the message, declaring that Israel would not leave as long as Hezbollah remained armed and threatening. The statements mark the most explicit official confirmation that Israel intends to maintain a long-term military footprint across all three territories.

Israeli officials frame the presence as essential to protect northern communities from cross-border attacks. Netanyahu said Iran had attempted, during its nuclear negotiations with the United States, to compel an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, but that “this will not happen.” Katz separately warned that any Iranian attack on Israeli forces would be met with “full force.” In Beirut, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam defended the framework agreement signed with Israel on 27 June, telling LBCI television that if implemented it should lead to an Israeli withdrawal and allow displaced residents to return. Lebanese authorities say Israeli operations since the war erupted in March have killed more than 4,200 people; the Israeli military reports 38 soldiers and one civilian contractor killed.

The framework agreement, brokered by Washington, envisages the Lebanese army taking over “pilot zones” in the south as a step toward disarming Hezbollah. Israeli officials have repeatedly conditioned any pullback on the group’s full disarmament. According to Israeli commentators, the deal brings clarity after a period of divergence between the US and Israel over Lebanon. A US-Iran memorandum of understanding signed on 17 June declared a ceasefire across all fronts, but Hezbollah, which was not a party to the talks, mounted several lethal attacks on Israeli forces thereafter. The Lebanese government, under President Joseph Aoun, has been developing a multi-phase plan to bring all weapons under state control, a process that analysts in Beirut view as central to any durable settlement.

The framework agreement’s implementation now depends on the Lebanese military’s ability to assert control in the south, a task complicated by Hezbollah’s entrenched presence. Israeli forces currently occupy a strip roughly 10 kilometres deep inside Lebanese territory, and the military has expanded its presence in southern Syria since the fall of the Assad government. In Gaza, Israeli troops hold nearly 70 per cent of the territory. The next practical step is expected to be the deployment of Lebanese army units to designated pilot zones, though no date has been set. Diplomatic efforts continue, with both Israeli and Lebanese leaders expressing commitment to a peace agreement, but the sequencing of disarmament and withdrawal remains the central point of contention.