Lebanese army enters ‘pilot zone’, as villagers return amid Israel deal

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that the Lebanese army has deployed to Zawtar al-Gharbiya in southern Lebanon as part of the first stage of a US-brokered “pilot zone” arrangement tied to a wider Lebanon-Israel framework agreement signed in Washington last month. The plan calls for Israel to relinquish control of some areas it occupies in the south, with Lebanese forces moving in to provide security. The army confirmed the deployment on Tuesday, after displaced residents began returning to nearby villages on Monday.

The report says the first phase includes a small number of villages, with the US identifying Froun among them, while Ghandouriyeh is believed to fall under a later phase. However, residents and Lebanese security sources told Al Jazeera that Froun and Ghandouriyeh had not been occupied by Israeli forces, prompting local skepticism about what Israel is actually conceding. Israel continues to hold other areas seized during its expanded war in Lebanon, and says Hezbollah must be disarmed before a complete withdrawal.

Al Jazeera described families returning to heavily damaged communities despite ongoing fear, lack of basic services and exposure to Israeli fire along nearby roads. In Ghandouriyeh, municipal council head Mohammed Nader said 250 of the village’s 260 homes were destroyed or damaged. Lebanese army patrols and checkpoints were visible in Froun and Ghandouriyeh, with soldiers checking vehicles and identification.

The issue is politically significant because Beirut is trying to demonstrate “state authority” in the south, a point expected to feature in talks between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and US President Donald Trump in Washington. Hezbollah, meanwhile, maintains that its weapons are needed to confront Israel if the Lebanese army does not.