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<\/a>\n\t\tA Lebanese army soldier stands at a checkpoint in Froun village, southern Lebanon, July 16, 2026. (Mohammed Zaatari\/AP)<\/p>\n
The LAF, in a statement, said that \u201ccoordination is underway\u201d with the US-led trilateral Military Coordination Group for Lebanon for the deployment of its forces in Zawtar al-Gharbiya, \u201cfollowing the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also warned Lebanese civilians not to head to the town \u201cand to comply with the instructions of the deployed military units to ensure their safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lebanese army said it was also continuing to carry out patrol missions in Froun and Srifa.<\/p>\n
The State Department did not specify what it meant by pilot zone operations beginning, but was apparently referring to the deployment of LAF forces in those three villages.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis milestone is a direct outcome of last week\u2019s discussions between Israel and Lebanon in Rome. The United States will continue working closely with both parties to implement the framework to a successful conclusion,\u201d the State Department statement said.<\/p>\n
The framework, signed by Lebanon, Israel, and the United States on June 26, after several rounds of direct negotiations, envisions a phased Israeli pullback from positions in south Lebanon.<\/p>\n
In exchange, the Lebanese Armed Forces are to assume sole security control of vacated areas and certify that they have been cleared of Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The pilot zones are intended to try out the approach in a handful of villages straddling the Litani River before it is extended to other areas.<\/p>\n
\t Hezbollah\u2019s forces long held sway in southern Lebanon before the area was taken by the IDF. The Iran-backed terror group has rejected the framework, insisting any arrangement in Lebanon be linked to wider negotiations between Washington and Tehran. It has not said whether it will resist implementation of the pilot zones in the designated areas.<\/p>\n The agreement does not set a timetable for Israel\u2019s withdrawal. While Israel agreed to withdraw troops from the second pilot zone as part of the framework deal, it has yet to do so, with military officials previously saying they have not received a directive from elected leaders to pull out of the area.<\/p>\n The Israeli foot-dragging on the withdrawal has marred negotiations with Lebanon, which briefly threatened to boycott last week\u2019s talks in Rome, before the US managed to talk Beirut down with assurances that progress would be made on the issue.<\/p>\n Israeli officials have vowed that their forces will remain in a \u201csecurity zone\u201d 10 kilometers (six miles) deep along the frontier for as long as Hezbollah remains armed.<\/p>\n \t The talks in Rome came ahead of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun\u2019s planned meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Lebanon and Israel, which have no formal relations, started negotiations after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the US-Israeli war with Iran by attacking Israel in March.<\/p>\n The framework agreement was reached amid a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.<\/p>\n Israel still launches occasional strikes in southern Lebanon and carries out detonations in villages it occupies near the border. Hezbollah and Israel fought a previous round of conflict in 2023-2024, after Hezbollah began firing at Israel in the wake of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tAn Israeli soldier rides in a military vehicle in an area occupied by Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, July 9, 2026. (Ohad Zwigenberg\/AP)<\/p>\n<\/a>
\n\t\tItalian police patrols in front of the US embassy in Rome, where Lebanese and Israeli delegations were set to meet July 14, 2026. (AP\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n
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