Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's advisor Dmitri Gendelman told Russia's TASS news agency that Israel will maintain its military presence in the southern Lebanon buffer zone because the Lebanese government failed to meet its 2025 commitment to disarm Hezbollah. Gendelman said the Israeli logic is simple: the commitment was made and not fulfilled. He added that Netanyahu's recent statements about operations in Lebanon are backed by concrete actions, including the capture of the Ali al-Taher ridge and the destruction of the tunnel complex under Beaufort Castle. Netanyahu earlier said at the cabinet meeting that the IDF 'has recently acted forcefully' in several areas in Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's advisor Dmitri Gendelman told Russia's TASS news agency on Sunday that Israel's military presence in the southern Lebanon buffer zone is a direct consequence of the Lebanese government's failure to disarm Hezbollah by the end of 2025. Gendelman stated that the Lebanese government had committed to the disarmament under the 2025 framework but did not fulfill it, leaving Israel no choice but to remain in the security zone and operate independently.
The advisor emphasized that Netanyahu's recent public statements about operations in Lebanon are not merely rhetoric. He cited specific recent achievements: the capture of the Ali al-Taher ridge, which housed a Hezbollah command post, and the destruction of the tunnel complex beneath Beaufort Castle. Earlier on Sunday, Netanyahu told the weekly cabinet meeting that the IDF 'has recently acted forcefully' in several areas in Lebanon, though he declined to provide details, adding that Israel is 'on alert for very important activity.'
The Zioneer has previously reported on Netanyahu's consistent position that Israel will not withdraw from Lebanon until Hezbollah's military capabilities are dismantled and the security of northern Israeli communities is guaranteed. The statement to TASS reinforces that stance, framing the continued IDF presence as a matter of Lebanese non-compliance rather than Israeli territorial ambition.
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- ConfirmedNetanyahu details Lebanon security-zone framework; warns Iran against attack
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