Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the US-brokered agreement with Lebanon on Saturday, describing it as a "historic" achievement that dealt a blow to Iran and Hezbollah.
"Yesterday... we reached a historic agreement for Israel following direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon," Netanyahu said in a televised briefing. He added: "This is a blow to Iran and Hezbollah."
Netanyahu reiterated that Israeli forces would remain in what he called the "security zone" — the villages it occupies approximately 10 kilometres inside Lebanese territory.
"We will remain in the zone until Hezbollah and the rest of the terrorist groups are disarmed," he said.
He added: "The United States and Lebanon have recognised Israel's right to maintain a security zone inside Lebanon for as long as that is necessary to protect our security."
"We will continue to control this security zone until Hezbollah and all other terrorist organisations are fully disarmed and none of them poses a threat to Israel from Lebanese territory," he continued, noting: "There are other agreements nearby that we will conclude."