Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has told his US counterpart Pete Hegseth that Israel is determined to keep its forces in “security zones” it has carved out inside Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.
– In a statement, Katz’s office said the two men spoke overnight and the minister “emphasised Israel’s determination to remain in the security zones in Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon in order to protect Israel’s borders and the communities”.
– The statement came despite a US official saying last night that the two sides made progress on a plan for Israel to withdraw from “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon, following two-day US-mediated diplomatic talks between Lebanon and Israel in Rome which ended on Wednesday.
https://aje.news/tf7bqn?update=4776065