Information revealed by a Lebanese military official to AFP on July 11 said that a US military delegation had arrived in Beirut, Lebanon to discuss with the Lebanese army about piloting the withdrawal of Israeli troops from one of the Lebanese territories controlled by Israel.
The US military delegation has arrived and started meetings with the Lebanese army command to discuss mechanisms for implementing the first pilot zone where Israel will withdraw troops, allowing the Lebanese army to deploy," the unnamed official said.
According to this source, the main goal that the US military delegation brought to Lebanon is to convey and implement the framework agreement related to Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
On July 9, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa informed in a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun that the US military delegation will arrive in Beirut in the coming days to determine the mechanism for implementing the agreement.
In Washington, a US official said "we have moved to the framework implementation phase. The first pilot zone will be deployed in the next few days, and the next pilot zones are being outlined and planned." According to this official, the US Central Command will coordinate with both Lebanon and Israel on the deployment of withdrawal pilot zones.
Israel and Lebanon reached a framework agreement on June 26, in which the Israeli army will gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon. Israel has deployed troops in these areas within the framework of the campaign against Hezbollah - a Shia Islamic force operating in Lebanon and backed by Iran.
According to the framework agreement mentioned above, the Lebanese army will take full control of 2 small areas after Israeli soldiers withdraw and these 2 areas are called "pilot areas".
The above agreement between Israel and Lebanon was rejected by Hezbollah. The agreement also does not set a roadmap for the time Israel withdraws its troops. In addition, Israeli officials also declared that its forces will remain in the "security zone" 10km deep in Lebanese territory as long as Hezbollah forces are armed.
In fact, Israel continues to launch sporadic attacks despite a ceasefire agreement in Israel's conflict with Hezbollah. Several attacks occurred in southern Lebanon on July 11.
Lebanon and Israel do not have official diplomatic relations but have had 5 rounds of negotiations since the fighting broke out. The latest round of negotiations between the two sides will take place in Rome, Italy on July 15 and 16.
Lebanon sets a condition for negotiations that Israel withdraws from the two pilot zones. The latest round of negotiations will take place before the visit of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to Washington at the end of July at the invitation of US President Donald Trump.
