Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said Israel will not withdraw from what it calls the “security zone” in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed across Lebanon. He described the capture of the Ali Taher heights as an important step toward establishing Israeli control over the area.

In a statement, Katz said: “Benjamin Netanyahu and I are pursuing a clear, uncompromising policy that the Israel Defense Forces are strengthening every day: Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon as long as Hezbollah has not been disarmed across Lebanon and the threats against the residents of the Galilee have not disappeared.”

Referring to the capture of the Ali Taher heights in southern Lebanon, Yisrael Katz said: “The capture of Ali Taher is an important step on the path to achieving this goal.”

He added that the operation “demonstrates the completion of the phase of establishing control over the security zone in southern Lebanon.”

Yisrael Katz also said the decision to capture Ali Taher was made after obtaining information about the existence of command and control tunnels belonging to Hezbollah in the area. According to him, these tunnels “were the last command base for defending the Nabateh area.”