In its first official response to the US-brokered ceasefire with Iran, Israel has declared it will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, directly contradicting the terms of an agreement that, according to Tehran and Islamabad, requires a cessation of hostilities on all fronts. Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were pursuing a “clear policy” to maintain an indefinite military presence in “security zones” across Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. Katz warned that any Iranian attack linked to events in Lebanon would be met with “full force,” and confirmed that Netanyahu had conveyed this refusal to President Donald Trump and other senior American officials. Israeli media further reported that the prime minister had explicitly told Trump that Israel does not consider itself bound by the Lebanon clause of the deal.

Viewed from Washington, the Israeli stance presents a direct challenge to the administration’s diplomatic achievement. Trump had already signalled unease with Israeli operations, sharply criticising a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs and, according to a CNN source, earlier ordering Netanyahu to scrap plans for an attack on Iran. Netanyahu is now seeking an urgent meeting with Trump upon his return from the G7 summit, aiming to clarify Israel’s position and, above all, to safeguard what one Israeli source called its “freedom of action” against Hezbollah. This push comes amid anxiety in Jerusalem that Iran is working to lock in an Israeli withdrawal from the south as a core component of the wider truce.

Tehran’s reading of the agreement, echoed by Pakistani officials, frames the deal as encompassing an end to Israeli military activity across all theatres, including Lebanon. Israeli moves on the eve of the announcement—described as a large-scale assault on Lebanese territory—and Katz’s subsequent disavowal reveal a deep fissure over the geographic scope of the ceasefire. The Israeli defence minister’s statement went beyond a simple refusal to redeploy: he outlined a plan to empty border villages of their inhabitants and destroy infrastructure both above and below ground, calling the seizure of territory “one of the greatest achievements” of the war and the defining lesson of the 7 October attacks.

The dissonance between the US-engineered truce and Israel’s declared security doctrine now threatens to unravel the fragile calm. Israel has extended its domestic state of emergency until 30 June, citing continued uncertainty over both Lebanon and Iran. Analysts in London note that the coming days will test whether Trump can reconcile his administration’s deal-making with Netanyahu’s hardline posture, or whether the ceasefire will fracture along the Levantine front before it fully takes hold.