By Quds News Network
Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the forces will remain in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza “indefinitely” following the announcement of a ceasefire between the US and Iran, adding that the areas under Israeli control will be “cleared of local residents” and that “houses will be destroyed”.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I are leading a clear policy that determines that the Israeli forces will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, without any time limit,” Katz said in a statement.
He added the “security zones” will be “cleared of local residents” and the “houses in the contact-line villages.. will be destroyed.”
Katz said Israel opposes the “withdrawal from Lebanon, despite all the existing pressures and those that will still come.”
“Prime Minister Netanyahu made these points clear to US President Trump and to other senior American officials, and I also made this clear yesterday to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth,” he said.
Katz confirmed that the ceasefire between Israel and Iran does not include Lebanon, saying “if Iran attacks Israel because of events in Lebanon, we will strike it with full force.”
Israeli deadly strikes and threats of forced displacement have continued across Lebanon despite a newly announced US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanese and Israeli officials.
The Israeli attacks have pushed the number of casualties higher, with Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health reporting that at least 3,526 people have been killed and 10,733 wounded in Israeli attacks since March 2.
Israel is also deepening its invasion of south Lebanon and threatening to resume large scale attacks in Beirut.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks ago ordered the Israeli military to expand “its ground manoeuvre in Lebanon”. Hezbollah said Israel violated the ceasefire and declared the right to resist Israeli occupation.
He also announced that Israeli forces had advanced beyond the Litani River, which runs around 30km north of the Lebanon-Israel border.
“Our forces have crossed the Litani and advanced to controlling positions,” he said.
More than 1 million people have been displaced by Israel’s assault in Lebanon, which has flattened entire towns, caused extensive damage to infrastructure and worsened the humanitarian situation.
Lebanon was drawn into the US-Israeli assault, which started on February 18, on March 2 after Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, on February 28, as well as Israel’s near-daily violations of a ceasefire it agreed to in Lebanon in November 2024.
Countries across the world have slammed Israel’s escalation of its offensive on Lebanon. French President Emmanuel Macron said “nothing justifies” it.
Iranian officials had warned that Israel’s escalating attacks on Lebanon and ongoing attacks in Gaza threaten to derail the ceasefire negotiations with the US.
Last night, the US and Iran reached a memorandum of understanding to end the Israeli-US assault on Tehran, and the document is to be signed in Switzerland on Friday.
The secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said the deal with the US includes the immediate suspension of attacks on all fronts, including Lebanon.
“Based on the agreements reached, the war and military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, will end immediately and permanently as of tonight.”
Pakistan’s Sharif also said on X that both sides have declared the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.
[https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/2066268332832194810]
The US president, speaking with The New York Times after announcing the deal with Iran, has slammed Netanyahu for mounting attacks on Lebanon.
“He’s a very difficult guy,” Trump said of Netanyahu. “And to be honest with you, he should be very thankful to us for doing this. Because if Iran had a nuclear weapon, Israel wouldn’t be around for two hours.”
Israeli officials have also slammed the US-Iran ceasefire
Yair Golan, the leader of the centre-left Democrats, called the deal “the culmination of many years of failure,” adding that Netanyahu is “ending his tenure with Israel’s enemies stronger, Israel weaker, and the deterrence built with the blood of our fighters eroding before our eyes.”
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel is
“We are not partners to this agreement that does not ensure our security, and it does not bind us in any way.. we must not withdraw from any territory that our fighters have captured.”
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the US-Iran agreement “is bad for Israel and for the entire free world”.
15 Jun 2026
Source: countercurrents.org