Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday rejected President Donald Trump's suggestion that Israel could withdraw from southern Lebanon.

He said Israel does not need anyone's approval to maintain its military presence there.

"We didn't ask for anyone's approval to enter Lebanon, and we don't need approval to stay in Lebanon," Katz said in a statement, according to The Washington Examiner. "It is our right and duty to defend the residents of the Galilee and Israeli citizens from the threats of the jihadist terror group Hezbollah, which aims to destroy the State of Israel."

Katz said Israel would continue to hold its positions in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed and no longer poses a threat to northern Israel.

"As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have clarified, we will continue to stay in the security zone in Lebanon and to act from it as needed, until Hezbollah is disarmed in all of Lebanon and the threat to the residents of the north is removed," he said.

Katz's remarks came a day after Trump, speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, said he believed Israel was prepared to leave southern Lebanon following discussions with Netanyahu.

"I talked to him about that. I think they're going to. I think they want to," Trump told reporters when asked whether Israel would withdraw. "They're getting along with Lebanon; they're signing deals with Lebanon."

Neither Netanyahu nor other senior Israeli officials have publicly indicated they intend to withdraw troops from the security zone along the Lebanese border.

Israeli leaders have consistently said any withdrawal will depend on Hezbollah being disarmed and the threat to northern Israeli communities being eliminated.

Israel has maintained that its continued military presence is necessary to prevent Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist organization, from rebuilding its military capabilities near the border after months of fighting.

The issue has remained a point of discussion between Washington and Jerusalem since a ceasefire took effect in Lebanon.

U.S.-mediated talks between Israel and the Lebanese government have focused in part on efforts to disarm Hezbollah, a condition Israel has repeatedly identified as necessary before ending its military deployment in southern Lebanon.

Israeli officials have argued that the Lebanese government has so far been unable to dismantle Hezbollah's military infrastructure meaningfully.

Israeli leaders also contend the group has used the relative lull in fighting to regroup and rearm following significant losses inflicted by the Israeli military.

Trump made his comments while appearing alongside Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the NATO summit. Syria and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations, although the Trump administration has encouraged broader regional normalization efforts.