Lebanon29 June, 20262 min read
Israel Katz Says Israel Will Remain in Southern Lebanon Until Hezbollah Is Disarmed
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Israel will remain in southern Lebanon and will not withdraw until Hezbollah is disarmed. Katz asserts Iran prevented Hezbollah's collapse.
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Katz sets long-term stay
After several hours of relative calm in southern Lebanon, the Israeli army carried out an airstrike targeting an area between Qantara and Deir Siryan and an explosion in the border village of Markaba (Marjayoun), according to L'Orient Today. L'Orient Today also said an Israeli occupation army reservist was "seriously injured" following an explosion in southern Lebanon near Beaufort Castle (Nabatieh), and that the Israeli army was "still investigating the cause of the explosion."
In parallel, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel will remain in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is "disarmed," adding that this security provision is "set out in the annex to the framework agreement" signed between Lebanon and Israel in Washington on Friday. Katz told reporters he did not believe the Lebanese Army would "suddenly be made up of lions charging at Hezbollah," and declared that the Israeli occupation of the South would "therefore be a long-term one."
US linkage and Hezbollah
The Media Line reported Katz argued that U.S. insistence on linking Lebanon to the Iran ceasefire memorandum of understanding prevented Israel’s military from destroying Hezbollah, saying the "pause prevented a massive blow the IDF had planned to continue inflicting on Hezbollah." Katz also told reporters, "In any case, we would not have withdrawn, and we will not do so in the future as long as Hezbollah is there," as he described Israel’s condition for leaving security zones as the disarmament of the terrorist organizations.
In Haaretz, Katz said Israel has no territorial claims in Lebanon but will not withdraw "a millimeter" until the Hezbollah terror group is disarmed, and the U.S. supports maintaining Israel's self-declared security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. Haaretz further reported that Katz said the IDF will not withdraw from the three security zones — in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza — and that he does not believe the Lebanese army will "suddenly become lions charging at Hezbollah," making the IDF’s presence "long term."
Displacement, aid, and risks
L'Orient Today said Katz claimed that around 600,000 "Shiites from the villages of southern Lebanon have fled," and that a further 700,000 people have been displaced from the southern suburbs of Beirut. The same article reported that Haneen Sayed, Social Development Minister, announced that 400,000 forcibly displaced people in Lebanon — out of more than one million since Israel re-escalated the war on March 2 — have "returned to their home regions," representing "40% of those displaced."
L'Orient Today also described humanitarian deliveries, saying the CMA CGM Foundation and the NGO L’Œuvre d’Orient announced they delivered a second humanitarian convoy carrying food and essential supplies to the village of Deir Mimas (Marjayoun), where "more than 300 families" received aid. As Katz tied Israel’s withdrawal to Hezbollah’s disarmament, he warned that "We will respond to every Hezbollah violation" and that "the equation still stands: rocket fire toward northern Israel and the frontline communities will be answered with strikes in Dahiyeh."