Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz informed his American counterpart Pete Hegseth early on Thursday (July 16, 2026) that Israel intends to keep its troops in the “security zones” it has established in Lebanon, Syria, and the Gaza Strip.
A statement from Katz’s office said the conversation took place at night, and the minister “emphasized Israel’s determination to remain in the security zones in Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon to secure Israel’s borders and border communities from threats from jihadist groups“. “We have never asked the United States to act on our behalf along our borders,” Katz stated.
US request for troop withdrawal
Katz’s statement came days after US President Donald Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw Israeli troops from Syria and Lebanon. Axios reported this, citing a US official. The publication notes that Trump told Netanyahu that the deployment of Israeli troops is fueling tensions in Syria. “They don’t want you there. You need to relocate,” Trump said, according to Axios.
After the overthrow of Syria’s long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel deployed troops to a UN-patrolled buffer zone that separates Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights. Since then, Israel has also carried out repeated incursions into Syrian territory and conducted airstrikes, stating that it aims to create a demilitarized zone in the south of the country.
Negotiations regarding Lebanon and Gaza
In Lebanon, Israeli troops remain deployed in what the military describes as a security zone extending approximately 10 kilometers (six miles) into Lebanese territory. Lebanon and Israel, which have no official relations, are engaged in negotiations to cease hostilities after the militant group Hezbollah drew Lebanon into a larger Middle East war by attacking Israel in March.
The two countries completed their fifth round of talks in Rome on Wednesday. The US-mediated negotiations aim for a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, starting with two “pilot areas” located outside the “security zone” Israel has established in the south. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli military controls 60% of the territory and is present along the entire outer perimeter along the borders with Israel and Egypt.
Source: The Hindu
