TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s defense minister said Monday that Israel won’t withdraw from land seized in Lebanon as the interim deal between Iran and the United States is pending.
Israel Katz’s remarks were the first official Israeli comments after the announcement of the interim deal. The two sides plan to meet Friday in Geneva to sign it, Pakistan has said.
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People who return to their village following the announcement of an initial ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, gather with journalists at a destroyed street in Beer al-Salassel, south Lebanon, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
People pass under a billboard showing a portrait of the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman waves an Iranian flag during a pro-government campaign as a portrait of the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, is displayed at rear, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman waves an Iranian flag during a pro-government campaign as a portrait of the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, is displayed at right, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Members of the Lebanese Army Intelligence stand guard in front of an apartment that was struck in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A man rides a scooter past a giant billboard that shows the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, with Arabic writing that reads: "Thank you Iran", in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Pedestrians walk past a poster showing the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, and the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini on a sidewalk at the Islamic Revolution square in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman waves an Iranian flags as she chants slogans against Iran and U.S. talks at the Islamic Revolution square in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Displaced people pack their belongings as they prepare to return to their village following the announcement of an initial ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
A rescue worker checks an apartment that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Katz said Israel plans to stay “indefinitely” in lands it holds in Lebanon, as well as Syria and the Gaza Strip. Iran has tied the interim deal over the war to halting Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Katz also threatened that if Iran attacks Israel over Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Israel will strike Iran with “great force.”
Over the past two and a half years, Israel has taken control of areas in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria amounting to 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of territory — an area that is slightly smaller than New York City.
People who return to their village following the announcement of an initial ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, gather with journalists at a destroyed street in Beer al-Salassel, south Lebanon, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
People pass under a billboard showing a portrait of the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman waves an Iranian flag during a pro-government campaign as a portrait of the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, is displayed at rear, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman waves an Iranian flag during a pro-government campaign as a portrait of the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, is displayed at right, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Members of the Lebanese Army Intelligence stand guard in front of an apartment that was struck in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A man rides a scooter past a giant billboard that shows the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, with Arabic writing that reads: "Thank you Iran", in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Pedestrians walk past a poster showing the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, and the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini on a sidewalk at the Islamic Revolution square in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman waves an Iranian flags as she chants slogans against Iran and U.S. talks at the Islamic Revolution square in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Displaced people pack their belongings as they prepare to return to their village following the announcement of an initial ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
A rescue worker checks an apartment that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
