Katz said the continued Israeli military presence would be intended to protect communities in Israel’s western Negev region. His comments come as Israel maintains that any lasting settlement in Gaza must include Hamas’s disarmament and the territory’s demilitarisation, while Hamas has tied the surrender of its weapons to the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

“The agreement signed yesterday between the United States , Israel and Lebanon is a historic event and an important diplomatic and security achievement for the State of Israel,” Katz said.

He stated that Israel would maintain its military positions in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is fully disarmed and security is guaranteed for communities in northern Israel.

“The key principle established by the agreement is that there will be no Israeli redeployment in southern Lebanon, no withdrawal whatsoever, for as long as the Hezbollah terrorist organisation has not been disarmed throughout Lebanon and the security of northern residents is guaranteed,” he said.

Katz also described the agreement as a setback for Iran , accusing Tehran of attempting to pressure both Israel and the United States into securing an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

“Iran attempted to force Israel to withdraw from Lebanon through threats and pressure on the United States, and it failed. Lebanon's future will not be dictated by Iran and Hezbollah,” he said.

He warned that Israel would respond militarily if Iran sought to prevent the agreement from being implemented.

“Should Iran attempt to attack Israel in order to prevent the implementation of the agreement, we will respond with overwhelming force,” Katz added.

The agreement was signed in Washington on Friday and is intended to stabilise the Israel-Lebanon border following months of hostilities. Under the framework, Hezbollah is expected to be disarmed throughout Lebanon, while Israel says it will retain its security zone in southern Lebanon until those commitments are fulfilled and the safety of northern Israeli communities is assured.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the US-brokered agreement after it was announced, describing the 14-point proposal as “humiliating” and accusing the Lebanese government of “destroying” the country.

A series of strong earthquakes struck multiple regions across the globe within 12 hours, with the strongest a magnitude 6.5 earthquake off the coast of the southern Philippines.

The USGS recorded 11 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or higher during the period, affecting countries across Asia, Oceania, Central America and the Caribbean. The events ranged from magnitude 4.6 to 6.5, highlighting the concentration of seismic activity along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where tectonic plates frequently interact.

The largest event was a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck 34 kilometres west-southwest of Sarangani, Philippines, at a depth of 42 kilometres.

The quake occurred in a region that is among the world's most seismically active due to the interaction of the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The USGS assigned the event a Green PAGER alert, indicating that widespread fatalities or major economic losses were unlikely.

The tremor came less than three weeks after a devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Mindanao on June 8, underscoring the region's continued seismic activity.

Japan recorded two earthquakes exceeding magnitude 5 during the same period.

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck near Yokoshiba at a depth of 43 kilometres, followed later by a magnitude 5.7 event near Oshino at 50.9 kilometres depth, according to the USGS.

Japan sits atop the convergence of four major tectonic plates and experiences thousands of earthquakes each year, making it one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

Elsewhere, the USGS recorded:

Most of these earthquakes occurred along active plate boundaries, particularly around the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped belt that accounts for roughly 90% of the world's earthquakes and about 75% of active volcanoes, according to the USGS.

Why earthquakes cluster along the Ring of Fire

The Ring of Fire stretches around the Pacific Ocean through the Americas, East Asia and Oceania. Continuous movement of tectonic plates causes frequent earthquakes as plates collide, separate or slide past one another.

Countries such as Japan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand routinely experience significant seismic activity because they lie directly on these plate boundaries.