The Lebanese army began deploying troops to one of three designated “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, marking the first implementation of a US-brokered agreement under which Israeli forces are to withdraw from parts of the border region.
The deployment coincides with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s visit to Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump, whose administration helped broker the agreement signed in late June.
Israel invaded southern Lebanon amid its parallel war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia and has continued to occupy a strip of territory extending around six miles beyond the border despite a ceasefire.
Israeli officials have maintained that until the Hezbollah is disarmed, the IDF’s forces will continue to be stationed in southern Lebanon, a demand that the Islamist militia has repeatedly refused.
“Military units began deploying this morning to Zawtar al-Gharbiya,” in Lebanon’s Nabatieh governorate, the Lebanese army said in a statement.
Lebanese military vehicles, including one flying the national flag, were spotted entering the village, which lies on the edge of the area Israel has designated as its security zone in southern Lebanon.
The US State Department said on Monday that Lebanese forces had begun assuming responsibility for security in Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Froun and Srifa, the three pilot zones covered by the agreement.
According to the department, Israeli troops were no longer present in Froun and Srifa, while forces remained positioned on the outskirts of Zawtar al-Gharbiya.
The IDF confirmed on Tuesday that the “Safe Zone” pilot programme had begun.
An IDF official said Israel would “adjust its force posture in one of the pilot areas in order to enable the Lebanese Armed Forces to carry out their mission,” signalling the first operational step towards implementing the phased security arrangement.
