The Lebanese army says its troops have begun deploying to a “pilot zone” in the south of the country following the withdrawal of Israeli forces under a US-brokered deal last month.
A statement from the army command said units entered the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh in Nabatieh district on Tuesday morning.
On Monday evening, the Israeli military confirmed the start of the pilot zone plan, which is expected to see Israeli troops withdraw from a small part of the territory occupied during their conflict with Hezbollah as well as the disarmament of the Iran-backed group.
This comes ahead of a meeting in Washington between US President Donald Trump and his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun.
Aoun is expected to urge Trump to pressure Israel to withdraw from the rest of southern Lebanon and provide support for the Lebanese army to take full control of areas where Hezbollah controls.
The US State Department announced Monday afternoon that “pilot area operations” had begun in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh and two other Lebanese villages, Froun and Srifa, in accordance with the trilateral framework agreement between Israel, Lebanon and the United States.
He said this “important step” was a direct result of last week’s discussions between Israeli and Lebanese representatives in Rome.
Later on Monday, an Israeli military official confirmed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would “adjust its force posture in one of the pilot areas” to allow the Lebanese army to carry out its mission, while “guaranteeing the safety of IDF soldiers and preserving its right to self-defense and eliminate threats.”
“The goal of the pilot project and the agreement is the disarmament of the terrorist organization Hezbollah and the withdrawal of its illegal weapons,” the official said.
They also reiterated that the IDF would remain in the “security zone” – the 10km-deep strip of occupied Lebanese territory that runs along the border – “as long as necessary” to defend northern Israeli communities.
On Tuesday, the Lebanese army command said its units began deploying to Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh “based on continuous communications with the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon,” referring to the trilateral body created to support the implementation of the framework.
The statement also calls on Lebanese citizens “not to go to the village until the security situation stabilizes, and to comply with the instructions of the military units deployed for their own security.”
The Lebanese army said its troops were already carrying out missions in the neighboring regions of Froun and Srifa following Monday’s US announcement.
An Israeli source also told the Haaretz newspaper that there were no Israeli troops in these villages.
Lebanon was drawn into the war between Israel, the United States and Iran on March 2, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader.
Israel responded by launching a bombing campaign across Lebanon and invading a significant part of the country’s south.
More than 4,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, including nearly 800 children, women and doctors, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Israeli authorities say 37 Israeli soldiers and four civilians were killed on both sides of the border during the conflict.
