Defense Minister Israel Katz says there is no restriction on Israeli forces acting to eliminate threats in Lebanon, while military correspondent Noam Amir (Channel 14) adds the IDF is not conducting initiated operations but stresses there is no ceasefire — calling it an injustice to describe the fighting as such.
Defense Minister Israel Katz stated Sunday evening that there is no restriction on IDF operations to remove threats in Lebanon, according to a statement carried by Hebrew media. The remark reinforces the position he articulated earlier Sunday (13:39 Jerusalem), when he denied reports of tightened operational limits and asserted the military's full freedom of action in the southern Lebanon theater, also ruling out a withdrawal from the security zone.
Military correspondent Noam Amir (Channel 14) added that the IDF is not currently conducting initiated operations, but pushed back against characterizations of the situation as a ceasefire — "whoever defines the situation that way does an injustice to the fighting there," he said. The comments come amid a broader public argument between security figures who insist the campaign is ongoing (as The Zioneer reported multiple times over the past week) and external diplomatic signals suggesting restraint. The IDF itself stated Saturday (07:52 Jerusalem) it is not initiating strikes in Lebanon, only responding to existential threats — a position echoed by analyst Yair Goldblatt in Sunday's earliest thread version (13:39 Jerusalem) who noted no initiated offensive operations are currently underway or at least not being published.
Since Saturday, a series of Israeli security sources and journalists have emphasized that the fighting in Lebanon constitutes war, not a ceasefire — a senior Israeli security source told The Zioneer on Saturday (08:34 Jerusalem) that "in Lebanon there is a war, not a ceasefire," and Israel officially dismissed reported ceasefires earlier that day (08:08 Jerusalem). As The Zioneer reported on June 15, Defense Minister Katz warned Iran of a "full-force" response and confirmed the IDF's indefinite stay in Lebanese, Syrian, and Gaza security zones.
No new operational orders have been published by the IDF as of Sunday evening. It remains unclear whether the raised approval thresholds for strikes reported earlier Sunday (13:39 Jerusalem) amid U.S. pressure tied to the emerging Iran deal are still in effect, or whether Katz's latest statement effectively supersedes them.
5 developments
- DevelopingIDF Chief: Army ready to immediately resume fighting Iran
- DevelopingIDF operating with intensity in Lebanon, military says
- StrongKatz: All IDF gains in the Lebanon campaign preserved; forces operate from the Yellow Line inward
- StrongIDF says it is not initiating strikes in Lebanon, only responding to existential threats
Source and signal
- Internal intake