Jerusalem, April 2026 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will maintain a 10-kilometre security zone inside southern Lebanon even after a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah comes into effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a videotaped statement, Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli forces would not withdraw to the international border, rejecting Hezbollah\u2019s demand for a full pullback. He argued that maintaining a buffer zone is essential for Israel\u2019s security, particularly to prevent cross-border attacks, including anti-tank fire and infiltration attempts targeting northern Israeli communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remarks followed an announcement by US President Donald Trump, who said that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire aimed at reducing hostilities along a volatile front linked to the broader Iran conflict. The agreement was reached after consultations with Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the temporary truce, Netanyahu made it clear that Israel\u2019s military posture would remain firm. He described the security zone as a necessary defensive measure to ensure long-term safety for Israeli citizens living near the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, Netanyahu pointed to what he described as a \u201chistoric opportunity\u201d to pursue a broader peace agreement with Lebanon. He revealed that President Trump intends to invite both him and Aoun to the White House for talks aimed at advancing such a deal, potentially marking a rare moment of direct engagement between the two sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Netanyahu, recent developments on the ground have shifted the balance of power in Lebanon, creating conditions for possible diplomatic progress. He claimed that Israel has received indications from Lebanon over the past month expressing interest in direct peace negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he outlined two key conditions for any lasting agreement: the complete disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishment of a durable peace framework between Israel and Lebanon. These demands, he suggested, are central to ensuring long-term regional stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Netanyahu also referred to discussions with Trump regarding Iran, stating that the US President remains committed to maintaining a naval blockade and continuing efforts to dismantle Iran\u2019s remaining nuclear capabilities. He described these measures as critical steps that could significantly reshape the region\u2019s security and political dynamics in the years ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ceasefire comes after weeks of escalating violence, during which Israel launched operations targeting Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. Although Lebanon is not officially at war with Israel, Hezbollah\u2019s control over large parts of the region and its cross-border attacks have repeatedly triggered Israeli retaliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the ceasefire offers a temporary pause in fighting, Netanyahu\u2019s stance underscores the fragile nature of the truce and highlights the challenges ahead in translating a short-term halt in hostilities into a lasting peace agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jerusalem, April 2026 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will maintain a 10-kilometre security zone inside southern Lebanon even after a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah comes into effect. In a videotaped statement, Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli forces would not withdraw to the international border, rejecting Hezbollah\u2019s demand for a full …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":54614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[81],"post_format":[],"flags":[],"class_list":["post-115459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","tag-world"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=115459"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115460,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115459\/revisions\/115460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/54614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=115459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=115459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=115459"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_format&post=115459"},{"taxonomy":"flags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fflags&post=115459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}