Israel will not withdraw from Lebanon despite new ceasefire, defence minister says

Israel will continue military operations in Lebanon and will not withdraw from the country despite a new ceasefire agreed on Wednesday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday, complicating the prospects for the agreement’s implementation.

Katz said Israeli forces would remain in swathes of southern Lebanon as part of what Israel describes as a buffer zone to protect northern communities from Hezbollah attacks. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians displaced from the south since...