Israel says forces will stay in security zones indefinitely
Defence Minister Israel Katz said Monday that Israel’s policy is for the Israel Defence Forces to remain in security zones across Lebanon, Syria and Gaza “indefinitely” to protect Israeli border communities from jihadist threats, even as Tehran sought to tie an emerging U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding to Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, flanked by Defence Minister Israel Katz and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, conveys a message to the Iranian people from the Israeli Air Force command centre, March 17, 2026. (photo: Haim Zach/GPO)
Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were “leading a clear policy” under which the military presence would be maintained in southern Lebanon.
He said the zones would be “cleared of local residents” and that “all terrorist infrastructure, above and below ground” would be dismantled. He added that this would include the destruction of houses in border villages that, he said, had been used as terror outposts.
“This is the main lesson from the events of October 7,” Katz said.
He described territorial control and the creation of security zones as one of the key wartime achievements of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
“We will not compromise on Israel’s supreme security interest and the protection of our citizens, and we will not withdraw from the security zones,” Katz stressed.
He also said Netanyahu had conveyed Israel’s position to U.S. President Donald Trump and other senior American officials, and that he himself had raised it with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Katz warned that any Iranian attack linked to developments in Lebanon would be met with a forceful response.
Separately, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Monday that a reported memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran does not bind Israel. He said Israel is “not subject to the United States” and described it as a sovereign state responsible only to its citizens and soldiers. Ben-Gvir urged continued pressure on Hezbollah and rejected any withdrawal from areas cleared of terror infrastructure, saying Israel must not return to a situation where threats sit on its borders.
The Israeli comments come on the heels of Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s announcement that an agreement between the U.S. and Iran to end the war had been reached, with a signing expected Friday in Switzerland.
U.S. President Donald Trump separately said he authorised steps to ease the blockade of Iran, which closed off the Strait of Hormuz. “Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
