![\"Israel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4740365-876415630.jpg\" "\\"Israel")
<\/p>\n Israel defense minister vows troops to stay in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza
\n \/node\/2654402\/middle-east<\/p>\n
\n Updated 12 August 2026 18:49 <\/p>\n
\n August 12, 2026 15:30 <\/p>\n
\n Israel defense minister vows troops to stay in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Katz says Israeli forces will remain in southern Lebanon, Syria and Gaza ‘security zones’
\n Israeli military says it is destroying underground infrastructure and homes in southern Lebanonanon talks in Rome<\/p>\n
\n Updated 12 August 2026 18:49 <\/p>\n
\n AFP <\/p>\n
\n August 12, 2026 15:30 <\/p>\n
\n\tJERUSALEM: Israel\u2019s Defense Minister Israel Katz visited southern Lebanon on Wednesday, vowing to destroy infrastructure and keep troops in a so-called \u201csecurity zone\u201d as well as in Syria and Gaza.
The comments came almost two months after Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-sponsored framework deal that involves the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon\u2019s south and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in test areas known as \u201cpilot zones.\u201d
The United States plans new talks in early September in Rome between Israel and Lebanon.
Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly vowed not to withdraw from the \u201csecurity zone\u201d in southern Lebanon \u2014 a strip of territory where Israeli forces operate that reaches around 10 kilometers (six miles) into Lebanon.
\u201cAs the prime minister and I have clearly stated, we are not withdrawing from this security zone,\u201d Katz said during a visit to troops, according to a statement from his office.
The Israeli military \u201cis here to protect the northern communities and its own forces. We will clear this area and guarantee the security of the residents of the north. We will in no way withdraw from the security zones: not in Lebanon, not in Syria, and not in Gaza,\u201d he added.
In southern Lebanon, Katz said the military was \u201cdestroying the underground infrastructure\u201d in the area and \u201cdestroying all the houses.\u201d
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in early March with rocket fire aimed at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran\u2019s supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.
Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
Israel has also carried out repeated incursions and bombings in Syria since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar Assad, saying it sought to establish a demilitarised zone in the country\u2019s south.
In Gaza, Israeli forces occupy more than 60 percent of the war-battered territory.
Last week, Netanyahu rejected a US-led plan for Gaza endorsed by Hamas, saying the Israeli military \u201cwill not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel defense minister vows troops to stay in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza \/node\/2654402\/middle-east Updated 12 August 2026 18:49 August…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":582917,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":["post-582916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}