Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday visited Lebanese territory occupied by the Israeli military and told troops that Israel would not withdraw from southern Lebanon as long as Iran-backed Hezbollah continued to pose a threat.
It was Netanyahu's first visit to occupied Lebanese territory since the Israeli and Lebanese governments reached a US-mediated security agreement last Friday under which Israel is expected to hand over two areas to the Lebanese army.
"Our insistence is that we will not leave southern Lebanon until the threat is removed," Netanyahu told troops, according to a statement released by his office, referring to Hezbollah.
"And as long as Hezbollah remains here, armed and threatening us, we will remain here as well," he said.
Netanyahu, who last publicly visited occupied Lebanese territory in April, was accompanied by Defence Minister Israel Katz and senior military officials.
Under the US-backed security agreement, Israeli forces are to withdraw from two "pilot zones" and allow the Lebanese armed forces to take control of the areas. Few details have been made public on how the arrangement will work in practice.
Israel invaded Lebanon after Hezbollah opened fire on March 2 in solidarity with Iran following US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic, triggering a regional conflict that killed thousands, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, but also in Israel and Gulf states.
Israeli forces have since established what they describe as a security buffer zone stretching about 10 km (six miles) into Lebanese territory along the border. Israeli officials say the zone is necessary to protect northern communities from attacks by Hezbollah.
The military has forced residents from border villages and carried out extensive operations in the area, destroying buildings and infrastructure it says were used by Hezbollah, including underground tunnels.
More than 4,000 people have been killed and over one million displaced by Israel's campaign in Lebanon since March, according to Lebanese authorities. At least 32 Israeli soldiers and four civilians have been killed in attacks by Hezbollah, most of them in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Hezbollah still possessed around 12,000 rockets and missiles and that Israeli forces had killed 9,000 militants in Lebanon, although he did not specify the period covered by that figure. Hezbollah does not release casualty figures for its fighters.
Netanyahu's remarks appeared to reinforce concerns raised by regional analysts that the new agreement could effectively allow Israel to maintain an open-ended military presence in southern Lebanon because Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected calls to disarm.
At the heart of the deal is a provision linking the restoration of full Lebanese state authority in the south to the verified disarmament of non-state armed groups, including Hezbollah.
Analysts say that condition is unlikely to be fulfilled.
"This agreement has put all the burden on Lebanon," said Michael Young, a Beirut-based analyst, adding that it "creates a structure that allows the Israelis to remain (in southern Lebanon) indefinitely".
Fawaz Gerges, a Lebanese scholar at the London School of Economics and Political Science, described the arrangement as "born dead" because it hinges on Hezbollah surrendering its weapons, something the group has categorically ruled out.
Gerges said Israel had already consolidated a buffer zone in southern Lebanon while tying any future withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament, raising the possibility that the security zone could become a long-term reality.
The framework agreement, signed in Washington, states that Israel has no territorial claims in Lebanon. It also stipulates that the Lebanese army's authority in the south will be linked to the verified disarmament of armed groups.
Netanyahu has portrayed the agreement as a historic opportunity that could eventually pave the way for broader peace between the two countries.
"We will continue to hold it (territory in the security zone) until Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations are disarmed, and until no further threat to Israel is posed from Lebanon," Netanyahu said on Saturday.
Three senior Israeli officials have said Israel has little confidence in Lebanon's ability to disarm Hezbollah but views the agreement as an important diplomatic step that could eventually improve ties with Beirut.
The conflict in Lebanon has also become a key component of broader diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the wider US-Iran war.
Iran has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of negotiations with Washington to end the regional conflict that began in February. Israel, which is not directly involved in those talks, opposes linking developments in Lebanon to negotiations over Iran.
Under US pressure, Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah on June 19, although sporadic violence has continued.
Lebanese leaders have offered sharply differing assessments of the new agreement.
President Joseph Aoun welcomed the deal as a first step towards restoring Lebanon's sovereignty and said it should eventually enable displaced residents to return to fully liberated territory.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, however, criticised the arrangement as an "agreement of dictates, not one that preserves Lebanon's rights" and said it would not be implemented.
Hezbollah has also rejected the agreement. The group's leader, Naim Qassem, described it as "null and void" and a "surrender", vowing that Hezbollah would continue fighting until Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah warned that attempts to impose the agreement could trigger internal unrest.
Analysts caution that any effort to forcibly disarm Hezbollah risks aggravating Lebanon's fragile sectarian divisions.
Danny Citrinowicz, a regional analyst and former Israeli military intelligence officer, said Hezbollah's dismantlement was "something that would never happen" and argued that the agreement, as currently structured, effectively legitimised an open-ended Israeli military presence.
"Nothing will happen. Israel won't withdraw, and Hezbollah won't dismantle," he said.