Just hours after the US and Iran said they'd struck a deal to end the Middle East war, Israel's defence chief came out with a very different message: the IDF isn't leaving.

On Monday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces will stay in what he called "security zones" in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza for an unlimited period. He said it was a joint policy with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the point is to protect Israel's border communities from what he described as jihadist elements.

Katz was pretty blunt about what that means on the ground. He said the areas will be cleared of local residents, and that all "terrorist infrastructure, both above and below ground", will be destroyed, including houses in frontline villages that he claimed were used as outposts.

He called holding territory one of the IDF's "greatest achievements" and said Israel opposes a withdrawal from Lebanon, "despite all the existing pressures and those that will come." He also noted that Netanyahu has already informed President Donald Trump of the decision cbinewstv repprts.

There was a warning in there for Tehran too. Katz said if Iran attacks Israel over the Lebanon campaign, Israel will hit back "with full force" and "clearly demonstrate the disparity in our capabilities."

His line, in full: "We will not compromise on Israel's paramount security interest and the protection of our citizens, and we will not withdraw from the security zones."

That statement made no mention of the US-Iran agreement announced earlier the same day.

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