Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has told his US counterpart Pete Hegseth that Israel is committed to maintaining its forces inside security zones in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, resisting pressure for a broader pullback after the United States announced plans for a pilot withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Katz said the deployments are meant to protect Israeli border communities from militant groups. The overnight call comes amid reports that President Donald Trump has asked Israel to pull back, at least from Syria, and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to travel to the United States in the coming days to meet Trump.
Israel [controls roughly 60 percent of Gaza](https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyhet er/a/gk4ld9/katz-vi-stannar-i-gaza-libanon-och-syrien) and operates a zone extending about 10 kilometres into Lebanon. Israeli and Lebanese negotiators completed a fifth round of talks in Rome on Wednesday.