In brief
Lebanese troops are moving into a pilot zone in the south, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces under an arrangement brokered by the United States. The army has entered Zawtar al‑Gharbiyeh and the plan includes pulling Israeli troops out of portions of territory and disarming Hezbollah fighters. The move comes ahead of a Washington meeting between President Donald Trump and Lebanese leader Joseph Aoun, where pressure may be urged on Israel to continue its withdrawal and support Lebanese control. The war erupted in March with Hezbollah rockets in response to a strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader, leading to extensive damage and casualties across Lebanon.
Lebanon’s army announced that its forces are deploying troops into a pilot zone in the south following the withdrawal of Israeli forces under a U.S.-brokered agreement reached last month.
Commanding units entered the village of Zawtar al‑Gharbiyeh in the Nabatieh district on Tuesday morning.
Israel confirmed the launch of the pilot zone plan on Monday night, a move designed to see its forces pull out of a small area of the territory it occupied during the recent clash with Hezbollah and to disarm the Iran‑backed group.
The announcement precedes a meeting in Washington between U.S. President Donald Trump and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, where Aoun is expected to urge pressure on Israel to withdraw from the rest of southern Lebanon and to strengthen Lebanese control in zones dominated by Hezbollah.
Since the war began on 2 March, when Hezbollah fired rockets in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Israel has conducted bombing campaigns across Lebanon and invaded a sizable portion of its south. The Lebanese health ministry records more than 4,300 deaths in the country, including almost 800 children, women and medics, while Israeli figures show 37 soldiers and four civilians killed on both sides.
