Channel 14 military correspondent Noam Amir reports that the IDF will remain in the buffer zone and the 'Hermon Ridge' security area in Lebanon. The report, published Thursday evening, suggests Israel intends to hold the positions as a permanent or long-term security belt, according to the report.
Channel 14 military correspondent Noam Amir reported Thursday evening that the IDF will remain in the buffer zone and the 'Hermon Ridge' (Keter Hermon) security area in Lebanon. The report frames the deployment as an established security zone, not a temporary or rotating position.
The dispatch comes as the latest in a chain of statements Thursday, all citing Israeli officials insisting the IDF will not withdraw from southern Lebanon despite ongoing diplomatic efforts. At 10:52 Jerusalem, The Zioneer first reported a senior Israeli official telling N12 that the IDF would not withdraw despite an emerging US-Israel memorandum of understanding, with 'difficult negotiations' ongoing. That morning's thread then multiplied corroboration: within the same hour, a senior official told Reuters Israel was in 'tough negotiations' with the US over its presence; a separate official later told Reuters negotiations were 'tenacious' following the US-Iran interim agreement; and an IDF official said forces would continue operating in the 'security zone' and that further talks with Lebanon were expected. Amir's Channel 14 report is the first to name specific areas — the buffer zone and Hermon Ridge — as the intended permanent or long-term holding positions.
As The Zioneer reported Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF would maintain an open-ended presence in security zones across Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, rejecting withdrawal pressure. Amir's report aligns with that policy direction, though it does not specify whether the 'buffer and Hermon Ridge' arrangement is permanent or condition-based.
No official IDF or Defense Ministry confirmation was published alongside the report, and the precise legal or diplomatic framework for such a long-term deployment — whether it would be negotiated with the Lebanese government or conducted unilaterally — remains unstated.
8 developments
- DevelopingSenior IDF officer: Withdrawal from southern Lebanon points backed by heavy air cover; troops to remain in security zone
- StrongKatz: IDF to remain up to Beaufort heights, any ceasefire violation met with force
- DevelopingDefense Minister: Israel has no intention of withdrawing from Beaufort security zone in Lebanon
- DevelopingNetanyahu maps two pilot zones for Lebanese Army withdrawal, keeps ridge line
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