{"id":511482,"date":"2026-06-26T03:51:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T03:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/511482\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T03:51:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T03:51:12","slug":"israel-lebanon-talks-extended-an-extra-day-as-deal-on-idf-withdrawal-remains-elusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/511482\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel-Lebanon talks extended an extra day as deal on IDF withdrawal remains elusive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel and Lebanon on Thursday wrapped up a third day of US-mediated negotiations in Washington without an agreement on a partial Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, though the sides agreed to extend talks for an extra day, an Israeli embassy spokesperson told The Times of Israel, with negotiators to reconvene Friday at the State Department<\/p>\n

The fifth round was supposed to wrap up Thursday at the State Department, with the US hoping it would culminate with the signing of a framework agreement that would include Israel partially withdrawing from small areas of its large buffer zone in southern Lebanon. Israeli troops would then be replaced by members of the Lebanese Armed Forces.<\/p>\n

The areas were this changing of the guard are planned for have been dubbed \u201cpilot zones.\u201d An Israeli source argued that it could barely be called a withdrawal because the IDF would still be maintaining its six mile-deep buffer zone in southern Lebanon and only pulling back from areas that it already cleared of Hezbollah infrastructure.<\/p>\n

In some cases, the IDF has gone about clearing that infrastructure by razing entire Lebanese villages along the Israeli border to the ground, arguing that Hezbollah was using much of them to plan and carry out attacks against Israel.<\/p>\n

Despite the lack of an agreement between Israel and Lebanon, a source familiar with the talks told The Times of Israel that the sides made progress on Thursday after a rocky first two days.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n

Both Israel and Lebanon came into what was the fifth round of negotiations furious<\/a> at the US for the latter\u2019s decision to sign a deal with Iran last week that included a ceasefire in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tDiplomats take part in direct Israel-Lebanon talks hosted at the US State Department in Washington on June 23, 2026. (Courtesy Israeli Embassy)<\/p>\n

Jerusalem and Beirut argued that the memorandum of understanding undercut<\/a> a key element of their direct talks, which the US specifically established to try and prevent Iran from having a say on affairs in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

The US conduct led Israel to initially harden its position in talks with Lebanon this week, significantly limiting the areas from southern Lebanon from which it said it was prepared to withdraw, the source said.<\/p>\n

Lebanon, meanwhile, felt that it had to take a harder line in negotiations with Israel to counter the notion that Iran wields greater influence over affairs in Lebanese territory than it does, the sources said.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, Lebanese negotiators presented maps for a proposed IDF withdrawal that were more expansive than what Israel was willing to accept at this stage \u2014 which was already very little due to the political pressures Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government is facing, the source claimed.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s talks saw gaps between the sides on the potential Israeli withdrawal shrink, though still not enough for a deal to be reached, the source said.<\/p>\n

However, due to significant US pressure on the parties to end this week\u2019s negotiations with some sort of deal, they have agreed to return to the State Department on Friday to see if a consensus can be reached, the source explained.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tSmoke rises from the site of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on June 20, 2026. (Abbas FAKIH \/ AFP) \/<\/p>\n

Asked for its own update on the status of talks, a State Department spokesperson sufficed by confirming that they would pick back up again on Friday at 9 a.m. local time when the sides will \u201ccontinue their work toward an agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day began with Reuters quoting a State Department official who claimed that Israel had already agreed to begin withdrawing some of its troops. The report was quickly denied by both sides.<\/p>\n

The State Department did not respond to repeated requests for clarification, so it was not clear if Reuters relied on an uninformed source or if the US had falsely leaked that progress had been made in talks in order to push the sides toward such a result.<\/p>\n

As the talks continued in Washington, Israel carried out strikes Thursday in southern Lebanon against what it said were Hezbollah operatives who posed threats to troops.<\/p>\n

Hezbollah accused Israel of a \u201cflagrant\u201d ceasefire breach after what it said was an Israeli drone strike that killed three civilians traveling in a car in the Nabatieh district village of Mayfadoun.<\/p>\n

The IDF had earlier said that five Hezbollah operatives were killed in the strike. It also said troops killed a Hezbollah gunman in another incident.<\/p>\n

\u05dc\u05d0\u05d7\u05e8 \u05e9\u05d6\u05d5\u05d4\u05d5 \u05d1\u05de\u05e8\u05d7\u05d1 \u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05d8\u05d7\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9: \u05e6\u05d4”\u05dc \u05d7\u05d9\u05e1\u05dc \u05de\u05d7\u05d1\u05dc\u05d9 \u05d7\u05d9\u05d6\u05d1\u05d0\u05dc\u05dc\u05d4 \u05e9\u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05d5 \u05d0\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd \u05e2\u05dc \u05db\u05d5\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5 \u05d4\u05e4\u05d5\u05e2\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05de\u05e8\u05d7\u05d1 \u05d4\u05d4\u05d2\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d4\u05e7\u05d3\u05de\u05d9<\/p>\n

\u05de\u05d5\u05e7\u05d3\u05dd \u05d9\u05d5\u05ea\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd (\u05d4’), \u05db\u05d5\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea \u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05e7\u05e8\u05d1 \u05d4\u05d7\u05d8\u05d9\u05d1\u05ea\u05d9 \u05d2\u05d5\u05dc\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d1\u05e4\u05d9\u05e7\u05d5\u05d3 \u05d0\u05d5\u05d2\u05d3\u05d4 36 \u05d4\u05e4\u05d5\u05e2\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05d6\u05d5\u05d8\u05e8 \u05d0-\u05e9\u05e8\u05e7\u05d9\u05d9\u05d4, \u05d6\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5 \u05d7\u05de\u05d9\u05e9\u05d4 \u05de\u05d7\u05d1\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05d0\u05e8\u05d2\u05d5\u05df \u05d4\u05d8\u05e8\u05d5\u05e8 \u05d7\u05d9\u05d6\u05d1\u05d0\u05dc\u05dc\u05d4 \u05e9\u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05d5 \u05d0\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd \u05e2\u05dc \u05db\u05d5\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5 \u05d4\u05e4\u05d5\u05e2\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05ea\u05d5\u05da \u05d4\u05de\u05e8\u05d7\u05d1\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/uNRdIgou5P<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u05e6\u05d1\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d4\u05d2\u05e0\u05d4 \u05dc\u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc (@idfonline) June 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Hezbollah said it was the third \u201cflagrant violation\u201d by Israel \u201cof the ceasefire to which it has committed itself so far.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Israel and Hezbollah engaged in a major exchange of fire last week before the US and Qatar brokered another shaky truce. Iran and its proxy Hezbollah have continued to demand an end to Israel\u2019s presence in southern Lebanon, claiming it violates the Islamic Republic\u2019s deal with the United States.<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tWe can’t do this work alone.\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n

There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n

As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tYes, I’ll join\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tYes, I’ll join\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tYou’re a dedicated reader\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re really pleased that you\u2019ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month. \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we started the Times of Israel – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.<\/p>\n

So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven\u2019t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.<\/p>\n

For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n

Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a>
\n\t\t