Lebanese troops deploy to “pilot zone” following Israeli withdrawal
The Lebanese army announced that engineering units entered the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh in the Nabatieh district on Tuesday, marking the first of a series of deployments into a pilot zone planned by a US‑brokered trirelational agreement.
According to army spokespersons, the move came after Israeli forces opened fire in the vicinity – the IDF said it fired warning shots when the Lebanese vehicle crossed about 150 metres into the 10‑km‑deep “security zone” and breached the barriers. Lebanese troops withdrew unharmed, and the army later confirmed that no injuries were reported.
The pilot zone strategy seeks to see Israeli troops pull back from a small area of territory occupied during the 2026 conflict with Hezbollah and to facilitate the Lebanese Armed Forces’ take‑over of zones still under the Iranian‑backed group’s influence.
The deployments were timed to precede a Washington meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, during which Aoun urged Trump to pressure Israel to withdraw from the rest of southern Lebanon and to support the LAF in taking command of Hezbollah‑held districts.
Trump pledged U.S. assistance to Lebanon, citing the country’s “decades‑long suffering” and promising concrete plans to help the Lebanese army disarm Hezbollah. The IDF confirmed it would adjust its posture in one of the pilot areas to allow Lebanese forces to operate while safeguarding its own security and preserving the right to self‑defence.
The trilateral framework, signed at the end of June, allows the U.S. to oversee the establishment of pilot zones in Zawtar al‑Gharbiyeh, Froun and Srifa, with Israeli forces remaining in the security zone until Hezbollah’s weapons are fully dismantled.
The conflict, sparked by Hezbollah rocket fire on March 2 and Israel’s retaliatory bombing campaign, has already claimed more than 4,300 Lebanese lives, including nearly 800 children, women and medics, and 41 Israeli casualties.
