A resident walks among the rubble of houses and shops completely destroyed by Israel in the village of Bir al-Salasil, southern Lebanon, on June 24, 2026. (Credit: Fadel Itani/AFP)
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on Monday, three days after the signing of the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel in Washington, that the Israeli army would not withdraw from southern Lebanon until Hezbollah “is disarmed,” emphasizing that this condition is “set out in the annex” to the agreement, according to comments reported by The Times of Israel.
Stating that he did not believe the Lebanese Army “would suddenly be made up of lions charging at Hezbollah,” Israel Katz declared that the Israeli occupation of the South would “therefore be a long-term one,” and that the “Shiite” villages along the border strip “must disappear."
'We will not withdraw a single millimeter'
“People should not be holding their breath wondering which part of Lebanon Israel will withdraw from next, because that will not happen until Hezbollah is disarmed. We have no territorial ambitions in Lebanon, but until Hezbollah is disarmed, we will not withdraw a single millimeter,” the Israeli minister said. He stated that he had agreed with the commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), Brad Cooper, that “the Israeli army will not withdraw from the three security zones — in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza.”
Regarding the systematic destruction of Lebanese villages in the occupied border strip, Katz stated that it was “clear that the Shia villages along the line of contact had to be wiped out in order to protect Israel’s border.” According to him, in the western and central sectors of southern Lebanon, “nearly 100% of the villages along the line of contact have been destroyed,” whilst in the eastern sector, “73% of the villages have been destroyed.” He claims that around 600,000 “Shiites from villages in southern Lebanon have fled,” and that a further 700,000 people have been displaced from the southern suburbs of Beirut.
With regards to return of the displaced, Minister of Social Development Haneen Sayed announced on Monday that 400,000 forcibly displaced people in Lebanon — out of more than one million since Israel re-escalated its war on March 2 — have “returned to their home regions.” The number represents “40% of those displaced."
Katz stated that the Israeli army still had “other tunnels to destroy and blow up,” notably a major underground network belonging to Hezbollah located “beneath the Beaufort Ridge” in the Nabatieh district, which, he said, would be destroyed using “500 tonnes of explosives."
‘The link between the Lebanese and Iranian fronts’
Katz also expressed "regret" at the Iran-Lebanon link, saying: "The connection between the Iran and Lebanon fronts is an American interest; if there had been no connection between the fronts, Hezbollah would have collapsed." According to the Defense Minister, the change in Trump's position came after a conversation between him and Netanyahu in which Katz was not on the line.
Katz stated that the Israeli army had then moved on to "Plan B," which he defined as "pushing deeper into the 'Yellow Line' zone in southern Lebanon" — that is, the area occupied by the Israeli army, which extends nearly 10 kilometers into Lebanon.
In the second half of June, Israeli occupation forces advanced towards Nabatieh, with particularly fighting taking place along the well-known Ali Taher Hill, south of the town, before yet another "cease-fire" last week brought Israel's incessant offensive to a halt. According to the Israeli minister, Trump “exerted pressure” on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and held five telephone calls “in the run-up to the signing of the memorandum of understanding.”
“I was not present during the fifth conversation. The President exerted pressure, and it was following that exchange that the link between the two fronts was established. From that moment on, residents returned to southern Lebanon and Hezbollah also strengthened its presence in that region,” he said.
Israel has shown no appetite for respecting "cease-fires," whether in Lebanon or in Gaza. In Lebanon, multiple agreements have been signed with cessation of hostility clauses that Israel simply ignored.
Israel is also doubling down on its refusal to withdraw militarily from the territory it occupies in southern Lebanon. According to the U.S.-brokered framework agreement signed Friday night in Washington between Lebanon and Israel, Israel is expected to withdraw from Lebanon once Hezbollah has been disarmed by the Lebanese Army with U.S. approval. This effectively gives Israel free reign to continue its occupation until Hezbollah agrees to disarm, which it is saying it won't.
In Gaza, Israel has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since the cease-fire went into rigor in October 2025, with new killings on a near-daily basis in the occupied and besieged Strip.
In infographics: How 4 months of Israeli attacks and war devastated Lebanon
