Reuters. Israeli government spokesperson, David Mencer said on Thursday (June 25), that Israel will not withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, so long as Hezbollah is not disarmed.
Mencer said that it is Israel's interest to protect its borders and it will continue to protect them. "This has been true since the ceasefire of 2024 when the Lebanese Armed Forces were supposed to disarm Hezbollah. That did not happen," Mencer added.
Senior Israeli and Lebanese officials denied on Thursday that there had been any Israeli withdrawal from occupied southern Lebanon, after a U.S. official said Israel had pulled some troops back in a good faith gesture toward Lebanon's government.
Israel and Lebanon have been discussing a U.S.-backed proposal for Israeli forces to hand some of the territory they occupied in their war with Hezbollah to Lebanon's military, in a possible step toward restoring Lebanese control in the south.
A senior Lebanese military official said developments on the ground in recent days "show the opposite of a pullback."
Israel has been enforcing its buffer zone against anyone approaching, including the Lebanese army, the official said. Israel's military said in a statement there had been no change in the location of its soldiers in the zone.
Israel has established what it describes as a buffer zone about 10 km (6 miles) into Lebanon from the Israeli border. Its military has forced the local Lebanese population from their homes and carried out raids on villages, destroying buildings.
