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<\/p>\nA seventh round of United States-mediated talks has begun in the Italian capital with the aim of establishing new \u201cpilot zones\u201d in southern Lebanon from which Israeli forces will begin withdrawing, and the Lebanese army will assume control.<\/p>\n
The three-day Israel-Lebanon diplomatic talks in Rome come as Israeli forces continue to strike southern Lebanon despite having agreed to a conditional ceasefire in early June.<\/p>\n
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Under a US-brokered, June 26 framework deal, Israeli forces had agreed to withdraw from large swaths of southern Lebanon they are still occupying, in exchange for the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. However, this has not happened yet.<\/p>\n
Will the seventh round of talks finally deliver a lasting ceasefire and Israeli forces\u2019 withdrawal?<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what we know:<\/p>\n
Who will be at the talks?<\/p>\n
The seventh round of talks in Rome will be attended by high-level political and military officials from both sides.<\/p>\n
A Lebanese official told Turkiye\u2019s Anadolu news agency on Monday that the Lebanese political delegation would comprise former ambassador to the US, Simon Karam, and the incumbent, Nada Mouawad, with the military delegation led by Brigadier-General George Rizkallah.<\/p>\n
The official added that legal adviser Antoine Sfeir and land-surveying expert Najib Massihi would also participate in the talks.<\/p>\n
According to The Times of Israel, besides high-level Israeli officials, the country\u2019s military representatives are also attending the talks.<\/p>\n
What was agreed in the June 26 framework?<\/p>\n
Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since March 2, when the Lebanese group fired rockets into northern Israel in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.<\/p>\n
Since then, Israel has occupied nearly one-fifth of Lebanon from the south and has killed more than 4,000 people since fighting erupted in March. More than one million people have been displaced from their homes as Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah strongholds, mostly in the south of the country and in the suburbs of the capital, Beirut.<\/p>\n
A previous bout of fighting over Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza ended in a ceasefire in November 2024, but Israeli forces have carried out near-daily attacks, claiming that Hezbollah has violated the ceasefire and refusing to end its occupation in breach of the deal.<\/p>\n
The Israel-Lebanon framework outlined a \u201csequenced process\u201d under which the Lebanese army would restore \u201ceffective sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory, pending the verified disarmament of non-state armed groups\u201d \u2013 a clear reference to Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
The deal did not directly mandate complete Israeli withdrawal from the 20 percent of Lebanese land it currently occupies. Instead, it noted that Israel should \u201cprogressively redeploy\u201d out of Lebanon, offering two \u201cpilot zones\u201d in which the Lebanese military \u201cwill gradually assume full and effective security responsibility\u201d.<\/p>\n
The first Israeli withdrawal under the pilot zone programme took place in July. But Israel continues to occupy what it describes as a buffer zone \u2013 or \u201cYellow Line\u201d \u2013 about 10km (6 miles) inside Lebanon, saying the zone is necessary to protect northern Israeli communities from Hezbollah attacks.<\/p>\n
In June, after the framework agreement was signed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video statement shortly afterwards, stressing that it would allow the Israeli military to remain in the occupied Lebanese land.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will maintain [the buffer zone] until Hezbollah disarms and as long as there is a threat to the State of Israel,\u201d Netanyahu said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What\u2019s on the agenda in talks this week?<\/p>\n
During the sixth round of talks in Rome on July 14 and 15, a US official told reporters that Israel and Lebanon had \u201cagreed on the structure and guidelines for the pilot zone process, to be finalised \u2060and implemented in the coming days\u201d.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, a Lebanese official told Anadolu that in the seventh round of talks,\u00a0Lebanon will propose designating new pilot areas for an Israeli withdrawal, with the second phase covering either Bint Jbeil or Khiam, both south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n
The military delegation will bring maps and documents detailing the Lebanese army\u2019s deployment in the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, the first pilot area agreed upon during the sixth round, the official said,\u00a0and added that it will also present plans for deployments in areas from which Israeli forces may agree to withdraw.<\/p>\n
Before talks on Tuesday, Lebanese Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani told media the government is not happy about on-the-ground developments following the earlier framework agreement with Israel.<\/p>\n
Hani said the current situation falls short of the expectations of President Joseph Aoun and the Lebanese government, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).<\/p>\n
Israeli officials have said they will remain in southern Lebanon as long as Hezbollah remains armed, however.<\/p>\n
What has happened at previous talks?<\/p>\n
The US mediated<\/a> the first round of Lebanon-Israel talks on April 14 in Washington, DC. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended those talks. However, the path to a breakthrough appeared narrow, as Hezbollah, which is not itself a party to negotiations, has urged the Lebanese government to pull out, calling the efforts \u201cfutile\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n The second round of talks was held on April 23 when US President Donald Trump chaired the talks.<\/p>\n A third round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon kicked off in Washington, DC, on May 14, days before the expiration of a \u201ctruce\u201d that failed to halt Israeli attacks and Hezbollah\u2019s response to them. Again, there was no breakthrough.<\/p>\n The city hosted a fourth round<\/a> of talks on June 2 and 3, when Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a ceasefire that would require a \u201ccomplete cessation\u201d of fire by Hezbollah, according to a joint statement.<\/p>\n The two countries, which do not have formal diplomatic relations, also agreed to create \u201cpilot zones\u201d, where Lebanese forces would \u201ctake exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors\u201d. The development came despite continued cross-border attacks.<\/p>\n Rubio announced<\/a> the framework deal following the fifth round of talks on June 23 and 26 in Washington, DC. Ongoing fighting in Lebanon, however, threatened to disrupt efforts to forge a ceasefire between Iran and the US.<\/p>\n The sixth round of Lebanon-Israel talks began in Washington, DC, on July 14. It concluded a day later with Israel and Lebanon agreeing to focus on a plan to establish the \u201cpilot zones\u201d, from where Israeli forces would begin withdrawing. However, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon is yet to take place.<\/p>\n Where has Israel struck in Lebanon most recently?<\/p>\n On Tuesday, NNA reported that Israeli forces dropped phosphorus bombs on olive and pine groves in the towns of Yaroun and Arnoun, as well as the city of Bint Jbeil in the Nabatieh governorate. The attacks caused large fires, it said.<\/p>\n The agency also reported two Israeli missile attacks on the Ali al-Taher hill near Nabatieh, and said an Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade in the town of Bayt al-Sayyad in Tyre.<\/p>\n