• In Washington, Tel Aviv and Beirut discuss pilot scheme to return territory
• Two more killed in Israeli drone attack

TEL AVIV: Israel’s defence minister said on Wednesday Israeli troops will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, declaring that no such demand has come from the Unites States.

Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, have repeatedly said they will not pull troops out of southern Lebanon, where they say they have created a security zone to protect residents of northern Israel.

“The IDF is prepared ... and we are not retreating. We announced that in any case we are not withdrawing, and as of this moment and this is a political achievement there is no American demand for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon,” Katz said in an onstage interview at a conference in Tel Aviv.

He made his comments as Lebanon and Israel discussed a US-backed proposal at talks in Washington for Israeli forces to pull out of some of the territory it invaded in the war and hand it to Lebanese-army control.

A US proposal for Lebanese army-controlled “pilot zones” featured in a ceasefire plan agreed by Lebanese and Israeli officials on June 3, though Hezbollah rejected the plan that seeks the group’s evacuation from a swathe of the southern Lebanon.

On the other hand, the United States and Iran last week signed an initial peace accord under which both countries and their allies declared an immediate and permanent end of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, and pledged to ensure Lebanon’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty”.

However, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz insisted on Wednesday Israel would not withdraw from southern Lebanon, even if the US demanded it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would remain in Lebanon as long as necessary.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during a meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC member states in Baku on Wednesday said, “For us, a ceasefire in Lebanon is as important as a ceasefire in Iran, and further, an end to the war in Lebanon is as important as an end to the war in Iran.”

A joint statement issued after Switzerland talks said the parties had agreed to create a “de-confliction cell” to ensure adherence to the termination of hostilities in Lebanon. Later, the US said it was committed to forming a “de-confliction cell” to consolidate the ceasefire in Lebanon, and that details on how it would operate were still under review.

Lebanese territory

Meanwhile, Lebanon and Israel discussed a US-backed proposal for Israeli forces to transfer some of the Lebanese territory invaded in the recent operations to Lebanon’s military, officials on both sides said.

The proposed pilot project is part of the latest round of Israeli-Lebanese talks in Washington, which are going ahead even after they appear to have been eclipsed by Iran’s move to make Lebanon central to its talks with the US.

A ceasefire in Lebanon has largely held since Sunday but Israeli forces are still deployed deep inside southern territory and carried out strikes, citing the need to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah attack.

On Wednesday, an Israeli drone strike on a car in southern Lebanon killed at least two people, Lebanese security and medical sources told Reuters, despite the renewed ceasefire. The Israeli military said it was checking the reports.

According to a senior Lebanese security official, discussions regarding the proposed “pilot zone” were ongoing in Washington. Specific military-to-military talks were also scheduled for the day, with negotiations focusing heavily on a timeline for Israeli withdrawal. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun confirmed that the proposal is currently awaiting Israeli approval. A definitive plan is not expected to emerge until talks conclude on Thursday.

Under a US-backed proposal, Lebanese troops deployed to a border buffer zone would undergo US training and vetting to ensure no ties to Hezbollah. However, Lebanese officials have not yet commented on the specific US vetting requirements for their troops.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2026