JERUSALEM / ANADOLU

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that Tel Aviv does not need permission to remain in Lebanon.

Israel occupies areas in southern Lebanon, some for decades and others since the previous war between 2023 and 2024, and it has advanced more than 10 kilometers during the current aggression.

Katz said in a statement: 'We did not ask anyone's permission to enter Lebanon, and we do not need permission to stay there.'

According to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Katz was responding to US President Donald Trump's statement that he believes Israel will withdraw from Lebanon under the agreements.

In recent days, differences have surfaced between the allies Tel Aviv and Washington, particularly regarding US negotiations with Iran and Israel's ongoing aggression against Lebanon.

Responding to a journalist's question about the possibility of an Israeli withdrawal, Trump said during his participation in the NATO summit in the Turkish capital Ankara on Wednesday: 'Yes, I think they will.'

He added: 'And I think they want that. We have an agreement with Israel and Lebanon. Yes, they will withdraw. I think things will go well.'

On June 26 last year, Beirut and Tel Aviv signed, under US sponsorship, a 'framework agreement' stipulating a 'phased' Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territory, starting with two pilot areas without naming them.

The agreement did not set a timetable for withdrawal, linking it to the Lebanese army assuming full security responsibility in the areas from which withdrawal occurs and the disarmament of armed groups, with particular reference to 'Hezbollah'.

Katz claimed that 'it is our right and duty to protect the residents of the Galilee and Israeli citizens from Hezbollah threats that seek to destroy Israel,' according to his words.

Since March 2, 2026, Israel has been waging an aggression on Lebanon, resulting in 4,321 killed and 12,203 wounded, in addition to more than one million displaced, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

In response to Tel Aviv's aggression, 'Hezbollah' launches rockets and drones at Israeli forces and vehicles in southern Lebanon and northern Israel, although its attacks on the Israeli interior have recently declined.

Katz continued: 'We established a fortified security zone in Lebanon, extending from the sea in the west to the Beaufort (Al-Shaqif) complex and the entrances of Mount Hermon in the east.'

He added that this zone is 'empty of residents, and empty of what he called underground and above-ground terrorist sites.'

He further said: 'As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have made clear: We will remain in the security zone in Lebanon and will operate from within it as needed.'

Netanyahu has been wanted since 2024 to appear before the International Criminal Court on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians during the genocide war in the Gaza Strip that began in 2023.

Katz conditioned withdrawal on 'disarming Hezbollah throughout Lebanon and removing the danger from northern residents.'

The Lebanese government is implementing a plan to confine weapons, including 'Hezbollah's weapons,' to the state, but the party clings to its weapons and insists it is a 'resistance movement' against the Israeli occupation.

On Tuesday, Israel announced that a new round of talks with Lebanon will be held in the Italian capital Rome next week.

In addition to occupying Lebanese territory, Israel occupies Palestine and areas in Syria, and refuses to withdraw from them and to establish an independent Palestinian state as stipulated in relevant UN resolutions.