Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz toured IDF positions in southern Lebanon on Tuesday evening. The PM stated that as long as Hezbollah remains armed, Israeli forces will stay in the buffer zone. The visit reinforces Israel's position that withdrawal is tied to the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Defense Minister Israel Katz joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a visit to IDF positions in the Israeli security zone in southern Lebanon on Tuesday evening, as the two leaders issued a joint statement tying any Israeli withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament.
As The Zioneer reported, the visit and the statement follow a sequence of developments on Tuesday. At 16:08 Jerusalem, military censorship was lifted on the visit, with initial reports showing Netanyahu alongside a brigade rabbi and a deputy brigade commander. By 16:08, the PM's office had published a statement reporting that Hezbollah retains roughly 8% of its pre-war rocket arsenal and that 9,000 operatives have been killed, and Netanyahu ordered troops to act against any identified threat. The Tuesday evening statement — published as a second, separate release — adds the defense minister's signature and formalizes the political condition: full withdrawal depends on Hezbollah's disarmament, not merely a ceasefire.
The visit comes amid international pressure for an Israeli pullout. As The Zioneer reported on June 24, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israeli forces are in Lebanon solely because of Hezbollah's rocket fire. On June 17, French President Emmanuel Macron called for both Hezbollah and Israel to disarm in Lebanon. Separately, on June 29, senior Israeli official Hillel Bitton Rosen said Israel is preparing for a multi-year military presence as long as Hezbollah remains active.
The Tuesday evening declaration appears to formalize Israel's position that a change in Hezbollah's military posture — not just a ceasefire — is a precondition for an Israeli withdrawal. The statement did not specify a timetable for withdrawal or a mechanism for verifying Hezbollah's disarmament.
8 developments
- StrongNetanyahu: IDF to stay in southern Lebanon as long as needed; 300 Hezbollah targets struck in two days
- ConfirmedNetanyahu details Lebanon security-zone framework; warns Iran against attack
- StrongNetanyahu to Hezbollah and Iran from Lebanon: 'If you see a threat — act'
- DevelopingNetanyahu: I ordered the IDF to strike 150 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
Source and signal
- Internal intake