{"id":536607,"date":"2026-07-11T17:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T17:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/536607\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T17:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T17:18:11","slug":"us-military-delegation-visits-beirut-to-discuss-idf-pilot-zone-withdrawal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/536607\/","title":{"rendered":"US military delegation visits Beirut to discuss IDF ‘pilot zone’ withdrawal"},"content":{"rendered":"

A US military delegation met with Lebanon\u2019s army in Beirut to discuss the implementation of Israel\u2019s withdrawal from a \u201cpilot zone\u201d in occupied territory, a Lebanese military official told AFP on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Under a framework agreement reached on June 26, Israel will gradually withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon where it has deployed troops to fight Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shi\u2019ite terror movement.<\/p>\n

As part of the agreement, the long-disempowered Lebanese military will take full control of two small areas dubbed pilot zones.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe American military delegation arrived and began meetings with the Lebanese army command to discuss the mechanisms for implementing the first pilot zone from which the Israelis will withdraw, allowing the Lebanese army to deploy,\u201d the official said, requesting anonymity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the main objective the American military delegation is bringing to Lebanon\u2026 it is the translation and implementation of the framework agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

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US Ambassador Michel Issa told President Joseph Aoun on Thursday that the American delegation was coming to \u201cdetermine the mechanism\u201d for the deal\u2019s implementation.<\/p>\n

In Washington, a US official had said on condition of anonymity that \u201cthe first pilot zone will launch in a matter of days, and further pilot zones are being mapped out and planned.\u201d<\/p>\n

US Central Command will coordinate on the zones with both countries, he said.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tTroops operate in southern Lebanon, in a photo cleared for publication on July 7, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)<\/p>\n

The agreement \u2014 rejected by Hezbollah \u2014 does not set a timetable for Israel\u2019s withdrawal, and Israeli officials have also vowed that their forces will remain in a \u201csecurity zone\u201d 10 kilometers (six miles) deep as long as Hezbollah remains armed.<\/p>\n

The war, which began in early March when Hezbollah entered the wider Middle East conflict on the side of its backer Iran, displaced more than a million people in Lebanon, according to the UN\u2019s humanitarian agency OCHA.<\/p>\n

On Saturday the agency said more than 732,000 people had now returned home, up from 640,000 a week before.<\/p>\n

That leaves more than 430,000 still displaced, it added.<\/p>\n

Israel has pursued intermittent strikes amid the truce with Hezbollah, with Lebanon\u2019s state-run National News Agency reporting several in the south on Saturday, including near the port city of Tyre. There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces on the reported strikes.<\/p>\n

\u0644\u0644\u0645\u0631\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u062b\u0627\u0644\u062b\u0629.. \u063a\u0627\u0631\u0629 \u062a\u0633\u062a\u0647\u062f\u0641 \u0628\u0644\u062f\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0646\u0635\u0648\u0631\u064a pic.twitter.com\/yJAttWNU75<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 bintjbeil.org (@bintjbeilnews) July 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The latest talks between Lebanon and Israel, which have no formal relations but have met for five rounds of negotiations since the start of the war, will take place in Rome next Wednesday and Thursday.\n<\/p>\n

Lebanon conditions its participation on Israel withdrawing from two pilot zones.<\/p>\n

The talks precede Aoun\u2019s expected visit to Washington later this month at the invitation of his American counterpart Donald Trump.<\/p>\n


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