Netanyahu Refuses To Withdraw IDF From Southern Lebanon Despite US-Iran Peace Deal

On Thursday (18 June), US forces lifted the blockade on all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas, with CENTCOM saying the action followed a deal signed between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war.

“Israel maintains an active and sustained presence in southern Lebanon despite the ten-day ceasefire reached with Hezbollah”

Atalayar

The same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his troops will not withdraw from southern Lebanon despite the US-Iran peace deal calling for the Jewish state to do so.

Atalayar

Netanyahu insisted that the Israel Defense Forces must remain in southern Lebanon to fight Hezbollah, and the IDF published a new map showing an expanded zone of occupation that may threaten the peace deal.

NBC News reported that Israel’s military published a map showing an expanded zone of control for its troops in southern Lebanon as Israeli officials told Reuters Israel was holding talks with the U.S. over continuing its deployment.

The NBC News account said the interim pact signed on Wednesday to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran calls for an end to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and for parties to ensure “the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.”

Netanyahu told reporters, “That requires maintaining the security zone in southern Lebanon,” and he added, “It requires that we not leave there, as long as Israel’s security needs require it,” as Israel’s expanded deployment map drew attention.

Reuters, as carried by NBC News, quoted two Israeli officials, including a senior official close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing Israel’s talks with the U.S. as “stubborn.”

Haaretz

NBC News said the map released on Thursday marked territory in dark red as “The security zone in which IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers are operating in southern Lebanon.”

The New York Post framed Netanyahu’s stance as defiant, reporting that he refused to pull troops out of Lebanon despite the US-Iran peace deal calling for withdrawal.

NBC News also reported that Israel rejected calls to withdraw troops from southern Lebanon, which it invaded in March in response to rocket fire by the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.

Atalayar reported that Israel maintains an active and sustained presence in southern Lebanon despite the ten-day ceasefire reached with Hezbollah, describing restrictions on access to large areas and an operational document presenting a deployment line extending 5 to 10 kilometers inland.

“Israel’s military published a map Thursday showing an expanded zone of control for its troops in southern Lebanon as Israeli officials told Reuters Israel was holding talks with the U”

NBC News

The Atalayar account said the perimeter covers an east-to-west strip including more than fifty localities, and that residents have been asked not to return for security reasons, with a mayor in the Marjayoun region saying, “Conditions are not in place for a return.”

Atalayar quoted an Israeli military spokesperson defending the strategy as aimed at “preventing the return of hostile activities in zones where Hezbollah cells are still operating.”

Haaretz, citing Reuters, reported that Israel published a map showing an expanded military control zone in southern Lebanon and said it would not rule out carrying out attacks beyond it, challenging the terms of a U.S.-Iran pact that calls for Lebanon's sovereignty to be respected.

In the NBC News account, the stakes were tied to whether Israel would “back down on its position that its troops would remain deployed in Lebanon,” with one official saying the outcome would depend on whether Trump “decides to force the issue” by threatening repercussions if Israel does not abide by the interim pact’s terms.