Zionist Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Israeli occupation forces were “staying indefinitely” in a buffer zone on the border with Lebanon, adding their deployment there was “situation-dependent.”
“There is a buffer zone (on the border with Lebanon), it wasn’t easy but I stood my ground, and we received a green light from the United States, we gave them a map, and we are staying indefinitely — this is situation-dependent, not time-dependent,” Katz said at a conference, according to a statement issued by his office.
It is worth noting that the Zionist enemy completed its withdrawal from South Lebanon on February 18, 2025, keeping five occupation positions in Mount Jal Al-Deir (Aitaroun), Al-Hamames Hill (Al-Khiam), Mount Blat (between Ramyah and Marwaheen), Houla-Markaba Main Road, and Al-Labbouneh Hill (Outskirts of Naqoura and Alma Al-Shaab).
Southern Syria
Katz also pointed out that southern Syria must remain demilitarized at all costs — and that ‘Israel’ will ensure that it does.
“Joulani came to power in Syria, traded in his trousers for suits, and he speaks well. We don’t trust him. We trust only the IDF,” the minister stated.
Gaza
Israeli Defense Minister added that the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt will remain a “buffer zone.”
“The Philadelphi Corridor will remain a buffer zone just like the borders with Lebanon and Syria,” Katz said.
‘Israel’ is scheduled to start withdrawing from the 14-kilometer (8.69-mile) corridor on Saturday under a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas.
An Israeli official, however, confirmed Thursday that Tel Aviv will not withdraw from the corridor on Saturday.
“We will not leave the Philadelphi Corridor,” the public broadcaster KAN quoted the official as saying.
He said Israel will not allow Hamas “to again roam our borders with pickup trucks and guns, and we will not allow them to rearm through smuggling.”
The Israeli army captured the corridor during its genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 48,300 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
The Israeli war was brought to a halt under the ceasefire agreement, which took hold in Gaza on Jan. 19.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
‘Israel’ also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
