Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz tells the Pentagon chief that Israel intends to remain in “security zones” it has established inside Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip. Katz says he is determined to keep the deployments to protect Israel’s borders and communities near the border from threats posed by jihadist forces. He also says Israel has “never asked the United States to act in our place along our borders.”
The accounts describe Katz’s remarks as coming in talks with U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth early Thursday, according to statements from Katz’s office. The comments follow reported U.S. pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to redeploy forces. U.S. President Donald Trump is said to have asked Netanyahu to pull Israeli troops out of Syria and Lebanon, with Axios reporting that Trump linked the deployments to rising tensions in Syria.
One outlet further notes that after the December 2024 overthrow of Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, Israel sent troops. No sources here provide additional details on the size, legal status, or timelines of the “security zones.”
