---
title: "Israel orders troops to prepare for an 'extended stay' in southern Lebanon"
description: "Israel's defense minister said the military has been ordered to prepare for an open-ended presence in southern Lebanon, ruling out a withdrawal until Hezbollah is disarmed — a day after the United States announced a framework deal that set no timetable. Hezbollah rejected the agreement outright."
category: "World"
category_url: https://newsparlor.com/category/world
author: "Marcus Reed"
published: 2026-06-27T20:05:00.000Z
updated: 2026-06-27T20:05:00.000Z
canonical: https://newsparlor.com/article/israel-extended-stay-south-lebanon
tags: ["israel", "lebanon", "hezbollah", "ceasefire", "middle-east", "unifil"]
---
# Israel orders troops to prepare for an 'extended stay' in southern Lebanon

Israel's defense minister said the military has been ordered to prepare for an open-ended presence in southern Lebanon, ruling out a withdrawal until Hezbollah is disarmed — a day after the United States announced a framework deal that set no timetable. Hezbollah rejected the agreement outright.

Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, said on Saturday that the military has been ordered to prepare for an "extended stay" inside southern Lebanon, signaling an open-ended deployment a day after Washington announced a framework agreement meant to ease the conflict.

## The order

"The prime minister and I have instructed the IDF to prepare for an extended stay in the security zone," Katz said, referring to a strip of Lebanese territory extending up to about 10 kilometers (six miles) north of the border, [the Times of Israel reported](https://www.timesofisrael.com/katz-vows-no-idf-withdrawal-from-south-lebanon-even-if-theres-an-american-demand/). He said there would be "no redeployment by Israel in southern Lebanon, no withdrawal, as long as the terrorist organization Hezbollah is not disarmed throughout Lebanon," and added that Israeli forces would remain even if the United States demanded otherwise — though he noted Washington had made no such request.

Israel casts its continued presence as a security necessity after years of cross-border fire, arguing the Lebanese army must first take verifiable control of the south and dismantle armed groups before any staged pullback.

## A framework with no timetable

The order came a day after the United States announced a framework agreement involving Israel and Lebanon. The accord envisions a phased Israeli withdrawal tied to the Lebanese army assuming full security control of evacuated areas and to the disarmament of all non-state armed groups — language understood to refer to Hezbollah — but sets no fixed timetable, [Al Jazeera reported](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/27/hezbollah-rejects-israel-lebanon-agreement-as-israeli-attacks-hit-south). The November 2024 ceasefire that ended an earlier round of fighting has been badly strained, with repeated Israeli strikes and accusations of violations on both sides.

## Hezbollah and Lebanon respond

Hezbollah rejected the deal. The group's leader, Naim Qassem, called it "humiliating, shameful, and a surrender of sovereignty" and declared it "null and void," according to Al Jazeera, insisting Israel must leave Lebanon unconditionally. Lebanese officials have described the country as divided over the Washington framework — some viewing it as a pragmatic step toward stability, others as legitimizing an indefinite Israeli presence. Talks over initial "pilot zones," where vetted Lebanese army units would take over security, were reported to be continuing.

## A shrinking UN role and a humanitarian toll

The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, is winding down after the Security Council declined in 2025 to renew its mandate, with its deployment due to end by December 31, 2026. The human cost of renewed fighting has been heavy: UN agencies and aid groups have reported that more than a million people in Lebanon — over a fifth of the population — were displaced as hostilities resumed in 2026, with [the UN's human rights office warning](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2026/03/lebanon-israeli-blanket-displacement-orders-bring-more-misery) that sweeping Israeli evacuation orders were causing severe civilian harm. With Israel's conditions for withdrawal and Hezbollah's demand for an unconditional pullout still far apart, the framework's durability remains in doubt even as the two governments formally endorsed it.