Minister Katz in Lebanon: "I instructed the IDF to prepare for a long-term stay"

Defense Minister Israel Katz visited IDF forces in southern Lebanon this morning, Wednesday, and declared that Israel intends to maintain a military presence in the security zones under its control. During the visit, in which he received briefings from commanders and spoke with soldiers, Katz said he had instructed the IDF to prepare for a long-term stay in the territory, presenting the military presence there as part of a broader concept according to which the protection of Israel's communities requires control over the areas adjacent to the border.

During the visit, Katz arrived at the Beaufort ridge area, which overlooks parts of southern Lebanon and Israel's northern communities. The minister received a briefing from the commanders on military activity in the area and on preparations for the possibility of another campaign against Hezbollah. Afterwards, he spoke with the soldiers and expressed his appreciation for their activity.

"We see the Beaufort ridge here after the tunnels there were destroyed. The IDF carried out a maneuver here through the Litani in a heroic operation and with tremendous skill defeated Hezbollah and took the Beaufort, which protects Metula and the northern communities and IDF soldiers, and threatens all of Hezbollah's areas on the horizon."

Later, the minister declared that from Israel's perspective, the presence in the area is not temporary:

"As the Prime Minister and I have clarified unequivocally — we are not withdrawing from this security zone. I am standing here in the heart of the security zone, from the seashore in the west to the Beaufort areas and the approaches to the Hermon in the east."

Katz emphasized that the IDF will continue to operate in the area with the goal of distancing the threat from the northern communities: "The IDF is here to protect the northern communities and its forces, we will clear this space and ensure the security of the northern residents — and we will not withdraw from the security zones under any circumstances: not in Lebanon, not in Syria, and not in Gaza."

Furthermore, Katz linked the current policy to the lessons Israel learned from the October 7 attack: "The lesson of October 7 is that we protect the residents by having the IDF here, in these places, and protecting them from raids, from fire, and from everything else — this is our policy, this is our concept." According to him, the goal is not to settle for defense from within Israeli territory, but to distance the threat through military activity beyond the border.

He presented the Beaufort ridge as an example of this concept: "The Beaufort fortress illustrates more than anything the meaning of this policy: we are up, they are down, the residents are protected, the IDF is inside, 200,000 residents are outside." Katz added that the IDF will continue to destroy infrastructure used by Hezbollah in the area: "We are destroying the underground and all the terrorist infrastructure they built with Iranian backing to invade the Galilee, and we are destroying all the houses in the space."

At the end of his remarks, the minister reiterated the intention to remain in the territory: "This is our policy, we will continue with it and we will not allow jihadist enemies of this type to threaten our residents and threaten our borders under any circumstances. We are here up, they are down, the residents are outside, the soldiers are inside, and the houses are destroyed."