Katz Defies Trump: We Don’t Need Permission to Remain in Lebanon

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said on 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, while during the current aggression it has penetrated more than 10 kilometers into Lebanese territory.

In a statement, Katz said, "We did not ask anyone for permission to enter Lebanon, nor do we need permission to remain there."

According to the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Katz was responding to a statement by US President Donald Trump, who expressed his belief that Israel would withdraw from Lebanon under the agreements.

Recently, disagreements have surfaced between the allies Tel Aviv and Washington, particularly regarding US negotiations with Iran and Israel’s ongoing aggression against Lebanon.

Answering a journalist’s question about the possibility of an Israeli withdrawal, Trump said on Wednesday while participating in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in the Turkish capital Ankara: "Yes, I think they will do that." He added, "And I think they want to do that... We have an agreement with Israel and Lebanon. Yes, they will withdraw. I think things will go smoothly."

On June 26, Beirut and Tel Aviv, under US sponsorship, signed a "framework agreement" stipulating a "sequential" Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territories, starting from two unnamed experimental zones. The agreement did not specify a timeline for the withdrawal, linking it instead to the Lebanese Army assuming full security responsibility in the areas from which forces withdraw, and the disarmament of armed groups, a clear 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 seeking to destroy Israel," according to his remarks.

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

In response to Tel Aviv’s aggression, Hezbollah has launched missiles and drones against Israeli forces and machinery in southern Lebanon and northern Israel, although its attacks on the Israeli interior have recently subsided.

Katz continued: "We have established a fortified security zone in Lebanon, extending from the sea in the west to the Buqaa (Al-Shaqif) complex and the entrances to Mount Hermon in the east." He added that this zone is "devoid of population, and devoid of what he called terrorist sites underground and above ground."

He further stated, "As my Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have clarified: we will remain in the security zone in Lebanon, and we will operate from within it as needed."

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

Katz conditioned the withdrawal on the "disarmament of Hezbollah throughout Lebanon and the removal of the threat from the northern residents."

The Lebanese government is implementing a plan to monopolize weapons, including those of Hezbollah, under state control, but the party insists on retaining its arms, emphasizing that it is a "resistance movement" against Israeli occupation.

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

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