Katz reiterates IDF’s ‘complete freedom of action’ to counter threats in Lebanon and elsewhere

Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterates that IDF troops have “complete freedom of action” to act against threats in southern Lebanon.

“IDF commanders and soldiers have full backing from the prime minister, from me, and from the IDF high command — and complete freedom of action to act decisively against any threat: in southern Lebanon, in the Gaza Strip, and anywhere it is necessary to defend the State of Israel,” he says in a video statement.

Katz says that the IDF “will remain in the security zone in Lebanon to protect the northern communities, thwart threats, and destroy terror infrastructure in the area, below and above the ground.”

A new deconfliction mechanism for Lebanon, established as part of the negotiations between the US and Iran in Switzerland over the weekend, would exclude Israel and reportedly limit Israeli military action to only responding to “imminent threats,” rather than to the broader category of “emerging threats.”