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IDF troops to withdraw from Lebanon pilot zones in coming days, says US official
The withdrawal of Israeli troops from the first of two pilot zones in southern Lebanon is slated to move ahead in the coming days, a US official told The Times of Israel on Thursday, as Washington continued seeking to advance negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.
As part of a framework agreement Israel and Lebanon signed last month in Washington, Jerusalem agreed to withdraw its troops from two small areas in southern Lebanon that have been cleared of Hezbollah infrastructure, to be replaced by members of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).
Two weeks have passed since that agreement, with Israeli forces still remaining in both of the areas that have been deemed the pilot zones.
While the US scheduled the next round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon for next week in Rome, where the sides would build on the framework deal, Beirut stated that it would not attend until Israel completed the agreed-upon withdrawal, an Arab official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.
US pressure has led to some, albeit limited, progress in coaxing Israel to move ahead with withdrawing from the pilot zones.
“The first pilot zone will launch in a matter of days, and further pilot zones are being mapped out and planned. CENTCOM is coordinating with both countries to move forward,” the US official said.
The Arab official said US Central Command will begin by declaring the first pilot zone ready for LAF deployment, after which the IDF will pull out.
No exact timeline was given for when that first withdrawal will take place beyond “the coming days.” The timeline for the withdrawal from the second pilot zone was even less clear.
Nonetheless, progress toward the first withdrawal is thought to be enough to convince Lebanon to send a negotiating team to Rome next Wednesday and Thursday.
“Rome is a closed discussion that will enable the governments to hand off to technical teams, which will work on all issues outlined in the framework,” the US official said.
“We will soon begin outreach to international partners to help the Lebanese government effectively restore sovereignty in these (pilot) zones and across their country more broadly,” the US official added, suggesting that the international community will be called on to help stabilize Lebanon either through money or the deployment of peacekeeping troops.
The US ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, told President Joseph Aoun that “an American military delegation will arrive in Beirut in the coming days to… determine the mechanism for implementation on the ground,” according to the Lebanese presidency.
“It is essential to avoid any vacuum when Israeli forces withdraw from the designated area,” Issa added, according to a statement from the Lebanese presidency.
Aoun, for his part, once again called on the United States to “exert pressure on Israel to halt military operations and comply with the provisions of the framework.”
Aoun is expected to visit Washington later this month at the invitation of his American counterpart Donald Trump.
Ahead of the expected withdrawal from the pilot areas, Israeli officials have vowed that troops will remain in a “security zone” 10 kilometers (six miles) deep as long as the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group remains armed. On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces announced that it recently demolished ttwo more Hezbollah tunnels in the southern Lebanon town of Majdal Zoun.
The tunnels spanned a total of some 200 meters, and reached depths of around 20 meters (65 feet) underground, according to the military.
Inside the tunnels, troops found several rooms where operatives would reside, three launch shafts, and dozens of weapons, the IDF said.
These tunnels were in addition to a major underground drone facility that the IDF uncovered and demolished last month.
Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.
