by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Newly appointed Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on Wednesday that Israel would reject any ceasefire agreement that does not require Hezbollah to withdraw beyond the Litani River, amid reports that a deal may be close.
“We will not agree to just any cease-fires, we will not take our foot off the gas, and we will not accept any agreement that does not include the achievement of the war goals,” Katz said on Wednesday.
Katz outlined Israel’s conditions for a potential deal, stating that it includes “the disarmament of Hezbollah, its withdrawal beyond the Litani [River], and creating the conditions for the residents of the north to return to their homes in safety.”
Katz further emphasized that any agreement must grant Israel the right to “enforce” the terms and to “act against any terrorist activity and organization,” he explained.
Several media outlets reported that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday to discuss the terms of a potential deal. France, also involved in the mediation efforts, addressed Israel’s security concerns during a visit by its Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, to the Jewish state last week.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
U.S. forces carried out five sets of precision strikes against Islamic State targets across Syria between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2, the U.S. military’s U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday.
U.S. forces carried out five sets of precision strikes against Islamic State targets across Syria between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2, the U.S. military’s U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced on Feb. 5 that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 314 prisoners, marking the first such swap in five months and the most tangible outcome yet from U.S.-brokered talks held in Abu Dhabi. The exchange followed multiple days of trilateral negotiations involving delegations from Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow.
The Supreme Court of the United States on Wednesday declined to take up a legal challenge to California’s newly drawn congressional map, allowing the state to proceed with district lines that effectively eliminate five Republican-held U.S. House seats.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran has entered negotiations with the United States because it fears potential military action, as both sides prepare for high-stakes talks expected to take place in Oman. Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Trump said Tehran “doesn’t want us to hit them,” adding that a U.S. naval fleet is in the region as pressure increases.
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that it carried out a series of airstrikes targeting underground Hezbollah weapons storage facilities across Lebanon, citing ongoing violations of ceasefire understandings.
The Trump administration is preparing a sweeping overhaul of federal employment rules that would make it significantly easier to discipline—and potentially fire—career officials in senior government positions, intensifying President Donald Trump’s long-running campaign against what he describes as a hostile “deep state.”