The IDF will not withdraw from Israel's security strip in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, as tensions escalated between Jerusalem and Washington over a US-Iran agreement that calls for an end to hostilities in Lebanon and a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Speaking during a ceremony for the re-inauguration of Route 60 in Israel's North, the prime minister vowed that Israel "will restore security to the north,” adding that "this requires maintaining the security strip in southern Lebanon, and that requires that we not withdraw as long as Israel's security needs require it."
Netanyahu's statements came after IDF Arabic Spokesperson Col. (res.) Avichay Adraee published an infographic map of the security zone in southern Lebanon, within 10 km. of the Lebanese border on X/Twitter.
The IDF is deployed in the Security Zone, around 10 km inside Lebanese territory, for operational reasons. The military stated that the ceasefire does not mean that it will fully withdraw from its security zone in southern Lebanon.
The army did not present a timetable for withdrawal or clear conditions for ending its presence in the territory.
The military also noted that the maritime security zone is a continuation of the land-based buffer, extending into the sea along a 280-degree course, in accordance with a political-level decision. According to Channel 12, the expansion of the maritime zone shows that Israel is committed to preventing threats and smuggling efforts along the coast.
The IDF is acting to remove threats and improve the defense for citizens of northern Israel, Adraee added.
Trump says Netanyahu 'a little too enthusiastic', says Syria should handle Hezbollah
This comes after an Israeli source said that Jerusalem is "conducting stubborn negotiations" with the US on the issue of continuing its deployment of troops in southern Lebanon, a senior official close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Reuters.
Israel has no intention of backing down on its positions, the official said.
Earlier this week, the US president indicated that he did not like Israel's policy in Lebanon.
"I say it's possible to act a little more moderately. Maybe you don't need to bring down a building every time a Hezbollah member walks into it," he said.
Trump also called Netanyahu "a good man" who sometimes "gets a little too enthusiastic."
He also suggested that Syria should fight Hezbollah instead of Israel.
"Israel's fighting Hezbollah for too long, and too many people are being killed. You don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody because there's a lot of people in those apartment houses and they're not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you," he said.
"I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah because, to be honest with you, I think they'd do a better job of doing it. If Israel can't do the job without killing everyone else, it'll do the job. Syria will do the job."