Israel Vows to Keep Troops in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza Zones
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- Israel Katz told Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth in an overnight call on July 16, 2026, that Israel is determined to remain in security zones inside Syria, Gaza and Lebanon to protect border communities from 'jihadist forces,' according to a statement from Katz's office.
- Katz added pointedly: 'We have never asked the United States to act in our place along our borders,' a rebuke that came days after Trump privately told Netanyahu to pull Israeli forces out of Syria and Lebanon.
- Trump told Netanyahu the Israeli deployment was 'fuelling tensions in Syria,' saying 'They don't want you there. You should redeploy,' according to Axios, which cited a US official.
- Israel deployed troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights after the December 2024 overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, and has since carried out repeated incursions and bombings into Syrian territory while pushing for a demilitarised zone in the country's south.
- Israeli forces remain in a security zone extending roughly 10 kilometres into Lebanese territory, even as Israel and Lebanon concluded their fifth round of US-brokered talks in Rome on Wednesday — negotiations aimed at phased Israeli withdrawal starting with two 'pilot zones' outside that security zone.
- Israel's military controls 60% of the Gaza Strip and maintains a presence along the territory's entire outside perimeter on the borders with Israel and Egypt.
- Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the broader Middle East war by attacking Israel in March, the reason cited for Israel's continued Lebanese deployment as the two sides — which have no formal relations — work through the Rome track.
Why it matters: Katz's 'we have never asked the United States to act in our place' line is a public rebuff of Trump delivered to the Pentagon chief, putting the US and its closest Middle East ally openly at odds on border policy in three theaters simultaneously. The timing threatens to derail the US-brokered Lebanon talks that just concluded a fifth round in Rome on Wednesday, and leaves intact Israel's post-Assad expansion into Syrian territory that Trump wants reversed.
