Israel will maintain its military presence in the security zone it has established in southern Lebanon and has no plans for an immediate withdrawal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, amid growing differences between Jerusalem and Washington over a US-backed agreement involving Iran and regional security arrangements.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the reopening of Route 60 in northern Israel, Netanyahu stressed that safeguarding communities along Israel's northern frontier remains a top priority and said continued military deployment in southern Lebanon is essential to that objective.
"We will restore security to the north," Netanyahu said. "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." His remarks came as tensions surfaced over a US-Iran understanding that reportedly includes provisions aimed at ending hostilities in Lebanon and facilitating a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Forces' Arabic-language spokesperson, Col. (res.) Avichay Adraee, published an infographic on X outlining the location of the Israeli security zone in southern Lebanon. The map depicted an area extending roughly 10 kilometres north of the Israel-Lebanon border.
According to the Israeli military, troops remain deployed in the zone for operational and security reasons. The IDF has maintained that the existing ceasefire arrangements do not automatically require a complete withdrawal from the area. Military officials have not provided a specific timeline for ending the deployment, nor have they publicly outlined the conditions under which Israeli forces would leave the territory.
Adraee said the military's continued presence is intended to eliminate security threats and strengthen protection for residents of northern Israel, who have faced years of tensions linked to cross-border hostilities. The developments come amid reports that Israeli officials are engaged in intensive discussions with the United States regarding the future of the deployment. A senior official close to Netanyahu said Israel is conducting "stubborn negotiations" with Washington in an effort to preserve its position on maintaining troops in southern Lebanon. The official indicated that Israel has no intention of changing its stance and remains committed to what it views as necessary security measures along its northern border.
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Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has publicly expressed reservations about aspects of Israel's military approach in Lebanon. Earlier this week, he suggested that Israeli operations could be carried out with greater restraint. "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," Trump said. While describing Netanyahu as "a good man," Trump added that the Israeli leader can sometimes become "a little too enthusiastic" in pursuing military objectives.
The US president also argued that regional actors, particularly Syria, should play a larger role in countering Hezbollah rather than relying solely on Israeli military action. "Israel's fighting Hezbollah for too long, and too many people are being killed," Trump said. "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."
Trump further stated that he had suggested to Israeli officials that Syria be allowed to take the lead against Hezbollah, arguing that Damascus might be able to address the issue more effectively without causing extensive collateral damage. "If Israel can't do the job without killing everyone else, it'll do the job. Syria will do the job," he said.
The differing positions underscore ongoing debates over the future security landscape in southern Lebanon and the broader regional implications of efforts to reduce tensions involving Israel, Hezbollah and Iran.
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