No withdrawal of troops from south Lebanon - Israel

Israel has said it will only withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon after Hezbollah is disarmed, as the two countries engaged in US-mediated talks in Washington.

The Israeli military has launched widespread airstrikes in Lebanon and sent troops into the country's south after Hezbollah, the powerful militia backed by Iran, entered the Middle East war on the side of its patron in March.

"We will not withdraw our forces from southern Lebanon as long as Hezbollah remains a threat, are not disarmed and are not demilitarised," David Mencer, a government spokesman, said in a briefing to journalists.

Under US pressure, Lebanese officials began direct talks in April with Israel in Washington.

The latest three-day round of talks is due to wrap up today.

Commenting on the negotiations, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two neighbours were close to making a "commitment of intent".

Asked about the talks, Mr Mencer said: "We are making extremely clear that our responsibility is to our northern citizens and to the whole of Israel, and we will not allow any terrorist force anywhere near our border - which means that any redeployment of IDF forces comes after, not before, but after the demilitarisation of southern Lebanon and the disarming of Hezbollah."

"We've already been in this situation in 2024," he added. "Hezbollah were supposed to be disarmed. They weren't."

Concrete step

Mencer's comments come as senior Israeli and Lebanese officials were moved to deny that there had been ⁠any Israeli withdrawal from occupied southern Lebanon after a US official said Israel had pulled some troops back in a good faith gesture toward Lebanon's government.

The official said that "Israel has already taken a concrete step by pulling back from a part of its buffer zone". The so-called buffer zone is a vast area of southern Lebanon that Israeli forces are occupying north of the Israeli border.

The official described the move as "a significant demonstration ‌of good faith toward Lebanon's legitimate government".

A senior Israeli defence official denied there had been any kind of pullback or withdrawal by Israeli forces, and said Israel would not be withdrawing from its buffer zone.

The talks on handing over Lebanese territory to the Lebanese army were for a few areas outside the buffer zone, not within it, the senior Israeli official said.

A senior Lebanese military official said developments on the ground in recent days "show the opposite of a pullback".

Israel has been enforcing ‌its buffer zone against anyone approaching, including the Lebanese army, the official said. Israel's military said in a statement there had been no change in the location of its soldiers in the zone.

Israel has established what it describes as a buffer ⁠zone about 10 km into Lebanon from the Israeli border. Its military has forced the local Lebanese population from their homes and carried out raids on ‌villages, destroying buildings.

Israeli officials say the area is supposed to protect communities in Israel's north from Hezbollah attacks. It says ⁠it has found Hezbollah weapons. ‌Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the military would not be withdrawing from the area.