Israel says troops will remain in buffer zone extending 10 km from border
Israel's defense minister said on Friday that the campaign against the militant group Hezbollah was not yet complete, just hours after a 10-day ceasefire came into force in Lebanon.
"The ground maneuver into Lebanon and the strikes on Hezbollah have achieved many gains, but they are still not complete," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a broadcast statement.
Katz warned that thousands of displaced Lebanese civilians returning home could once again face evacuation from the war-torn south if fighting resumed.
"If the fighting resumes, those residents who return to the security zone will have to be evacuated to allow completion of the mission," Katz said, warning that the military had not yet completed its operations against Hezbollah.
Katz said Israeli forces would continue to hold all the places they are currently stationed, including a buffer zone extending 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Israel into southern Lebanon. He added that many homes in the area would be destroyed and no Lebanese residents could return to the area.
Katz said the rest of Lebanon south of the Litani River must also be cleared of Hezbollah’s presence, either through diplomatic means or continued Israeli military operation.
“Disarming Hezbollah by military or diplomatic means was and remains the goal of the campaign to which we are committed –- with significant political leverage now also due to the direct involvement of the U.S. president and his commitment to this goal -– while applying pressure to the Lebanese government,” Katz said. Israel occupied a similar area in southern Lebanon between 1982 to 2000.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon, but also said Israeli troops would not withdraw.
Israeli forces have engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah in the border area as they pushed into southern Lebanon to create what officials have called a “security zone.”
“That is where we are, and we are not leaving,” he said.
Hezbollah has said that Lebanese people have “the right to resist” Israeli occupation of their land and that their actions “will be determined based on how developments unfold.”
The U.S. State Department said that according to the agreement, Israel reserves the right to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.” But otherwise, Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets.”
Trump announced the agreement as a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, but a Hezbollah official said the ceasefire was a result of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Israel and Hezbollah have fought several wars and have been fighting on and off since the day after the start of the Gaza war. Israel and Lebanon reached a deal to end that war in November 2024, but Israel has kept up near-daily strikes in what it says is an effort to prevent the Iran-backed militant group from regrouping. That escalated into another invasion after Hezbollah again began firing missiles at Israel in response to its war on Iran.
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press
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