Benjamin Netanyahu Says Israel Will Remain in Lebanon Security Zones as U.S.-Iran Deal Advances

Israel’s stance on Lebanon hardened as the United States and Iran moved toward a deal, with i24NEWS reporting a senior US official saying, "Not a condition of the deal is Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon."

In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu told a televised press conference that "we will remain in these security zones … to protect our country," framing the decision as part of deep security zones he said Israel established in Gaza, in Lebanon and in Syria.

Al Jazeera

The Guardian reported that relative calm held in southern Lebanon on Monday while sporadic violence persisted, including an Israeli drone strike that killed one person in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Tebnit.

The BBC added that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the deal included "the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon," even as Israeli politicians criticized it.

Against that backdrop, the BBC said Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz opposed a withdrawal from the roughly 5% of Lebanese territory Israel has occupied and pledged that if Iran attacked Israel due to events in Lebanon, it would strike "with full force."

As the US-Iran framework deal drew anger in Israel, the Times of Israel reported that Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed Monday that Israel will remain in southern Lebanon and warned that if Iran strikes, it will be hit "with full force."

The Times of Israel also quoted far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling the agreement "bad for Israel and for the entire free world. Period."

AP News

The Hill reported that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on Xin that "Trump’s agreement does not bind us," and said Israel is an independent and sovereign nation.

In parallel, the BBC said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed the announcement, saying in a statement that he looked forward to understandings translating into "practical steps that will put a definitive end to the cycle of violence".

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera described Lebanese uncertainty on Monday, with people returning to areas in the south while officials warned border villages not to return until the security situation became clearer, and it quoted Ali Saleh saying, "I won’t be heading back home."

The dispute over Lebanon’s ceasefire terms played out alongside questions about whether the broader US-Iran arrangement could survive Israeli actions, with CBS News noting that Iran warned an Israeli attack on a Beirut suburb could threaten the deal and that Trump said on Truth Social, "this morning's attack on Beirut should not have happened."

“Initial deal to end US-Iran war moves toward formal signing despite lingering questions Initial deal to end US-Iran war moves toward formal signing despite lingering questions DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An initial agreement between the United States and Iran to extend their shaky ceasefire inched toward a formal signing despite questions Monday over the fate of Tehran’s nuclear program and an offensive by Israel in Lebanon that could prolong the fighting and scuttle the deal”

AP News

The Jerusalem Post reported that an Israeli source said Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon as part of the newly agreed to US-Iran deal, and it added that if Hezbollah respects the ceasefire, there will be "no attacks anywhere in Lebanon."

Al Jazeera put the stakes in human terms, saying Israel has killed at least 3,783 people in Lebanon and wounded 11,699, and that more than 1.2 million have been displaced from the south, Beirut’s southern suburbs and villages in the Bekaa Valley.

It also said Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri praised the deal and thanked Iran and the US for including a clause "on halting Israeli aggression against all of Lebanon, to preserve its sovereignty over its entire territory."

With the ceasefire framed as immediate and permanent by Pakistan and others, the BBC reported that the pact extends a ceasefire for another 60 days while sides negotiate details of a final agreement, leaving Lebanon’s future tied to whether Israel and Hezbollah keep to the terms.