U.S., Lebanese Delegations Convene in Beirut to Advance Israeli Withdrawal from Pilot Zones

Military delegations from the United States and Lebanon met in Beirut on Saturday to establish a mechanism for the first phase of a U.S.-brokered framework agreement aimed at securing an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Lebanese sources told Al Jazeera that the talks centered on implementing the first of two designated “pilot zones” outlined in the accord reached on June 26. Under that agreement, Israel is to gradually withdraw from areas where its troops have operated against Hezbollah, with the Lebanese military assuming full control of the two pilot zones.

The meeting followed the arrival of a U.S. delegation in Beirut earlier this week. U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa informed President Joseph Aoun on Thursday that the delegation would determine the implementation mechanism for the deal.

The framework does not set a fixed timetable for Israel’s withdrawal, and Israeli officials have insisted their forces will remain in a 10-kilometer (six-mile) “security zone” as long as Hezbollah retains its arsenal. Hezbollah has rejected the agreement and opposes direct Lebanese-Israeli talks, preferring a ceasefire arrangement linked to U.S.-Iran understandings. Despite a recent breakdown in that broader ceasefire, the group has held its fire in Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett.

Seven Injured in Latest Israeli Attacks

The conflict, which erupted in early March after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, has displaced more than one million people in Lebanon, according to the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA. As of Saturday, over 732,000 people had returned home, up from 640,000 a week earlier, leaving approximately 430,000 still displaced.

Israeli attacks have continued despite the ceasefire. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported multiple raids in the south on Saturday, including strikes on residential neighborhoods in the town of al-Mansouri in the Tyre district that injured seven people.

Israeli forces also deployed three tanks and several bulldozers to advance into the eastern edge of Beit Yahoun, while in Houla, troops ignited fires that damaged homes and olive groves. Additionally, Israeli forces demolished homes in the Nabatieh district, the NNA said.

The next round of talks between Lebanon and Israel — which have no formal diplomatic relations but have held five rounds of negotiations since the war began — is scheduled for Rome next Wednesday and Thursday. Lebanon has conditioned its participation on an Israeli withdrawal from the two pilot zones.

The discussions precede President Aoun’s expected visit to Washington later this month at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Source link