Lebanese army says troops deploying in 'pilot zone' after Israeli withdrawal

What the report says

BBC World News reports that Lebanon’s army began deploying troops in a “pilot zone” in the south after an Israeli pullback under a US-brokered framework agreed in late June. The army said engineering units entered Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh in Nabatieh district on Tuesday, while operations were also under way in Froun and Srifa. The plan is intended to test arrangements for Israeli withdrawals from parts of occupied southern Lebanon alongside the disarmament of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese group.

The deployment quickly became disputed. Lebanon’s army said Israeli forces fired near its units, warning that this obstructed the pilot-zone process. Israel’s military said its troops fired warning shots after Lebanese soldiers and an engineering vehicle crossed about 150 metres into an Israeli-declared security zone near Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh, and said no injuries were reported. An Israeli official said the IDF would adjust its position in one pilot area but would keep forces in the 10km-deep security zone as long as it considered necessary.

The move came as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met US President Donald Trump in Washington, seeking political backing and support for the Lebanese Armed Forces. Trump said the US would help Lebanon and referred to plans to build its capacity to disarm Hezbollah, though he gave no details.

The BBC notes Hezbollah has rejected the framework, arguing that tying Israel’s withdrawal to its disarmament crosses “red lines,” while Israel says it will not fully leave Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed. The latest conflict has caused heavy casualties and widespread destruction in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese and Israeli authorities cited by the BBC.