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The Lebanese army announced on Tuesday that it had begun deploying to an area in the south, one of three “pilot zones” outlined in a deal with Israel to disarm Hezbollah.
The announcement came with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visiting Washington, which brokered the deal with Israel.
Israel invaded Lebanon during its recent war with Iran-backed militants Hezbollah, and it has continued to occupy parts of the country despite a ceasefire agreement in place.
To date, Israeli troops have only controlled the outskirts of one of the so-called pilot zones, with their occupation of other areas yet to be addressed. The Lebanese military already has a presence in the other two pilot zones.
“Military units began deploying this morning to Zawtar al- Gharbieh” in the Nabatieh region, the army said in a statement.
The announcement comes as Aoun prepares to meet with his US counterpart Donald Trump on Tuesday to wrap up his four-day visit, aiming to bring about long-term calm in the war-torn country after months of war and occupation.
Joseph Aoun’s landmark meeting with Trump comes as Lebanon and Israel continue to hold rare direct talks mediated by Washington. Lebanon hopes they will result in Israeli troops withdrawing from large swaths of their southern regions, but talks have not yet produced tangible results on that front.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously asserted that he had no intention of removing Israeli troops from the region, arguing that in the absence of a domestic front against Hezbollah, IDF forces will maintain their presence to secure northern regions of his country.
Lebanon and Israel announced a “framework agreement” on 26 June, setting a plan for IDF forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon as well as the disarmament of Hezbollah, which for decades had a strong presence in the area.
It also laid out steps toward an eventual peace arrangement between both countries, which have never held formal diplomatic ties and have been nominally in a state of war for nearly 80 years since Israel’s establishment.
The US State Department announced on Monday that operations in three villages deemed part of a “pilot zone” had begun, without giving details on what that entailed.
Two of the three villages, Froun and Srifa, are not under Israeli military control and the Lebanese army is present there, while Israeli forces are present in part of Zawtar al-Gharbieh.
The Lebanese army in a statement said it was preparing for Israel to withdraw from Zawtar al-Gharbieh and that it had begun deploying troops to the area Tuesday.
The Israeli military said it “will adjust its force posture in one of the pilot areas in order to enable the Lebanese Armed Forces to carry out their mission,” without specifying the location. A spokesperson for the IDF added that withdrawals have not yet begun and did not specify a timeline of when that is planned to take place.
Additional sources • AP, AFP