First pilot zone "Days away" as US pushes Lebanon deal forward

A US military delegation has arrived in Beirut for talks with the Lebanese army on implementing Israel's withdrawal from one of two "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese military official told AFP Saturday.

Under a framework agreement signed June 26, Israel is to gradually pull back from areas of southern Lebanon it occupied during its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah, handing control of two limited "pilot zones" to the long-sidelined Lebanese army.

"The US military delegation has arrived and started meetings with the Lebanese army command to discuss the mechanisms for implementing the first pilot zone, from which the Israelis must withdraw to allow the deployment of the Lebanese army," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

"That's the main objective of the US military delegation in Lebanon... translating the framework agreement into concrete steps and ensuring its implementation."

A US official in Washington said this week the first pilot zone would be set up "in the coming days," with others still being mapped out. The US Central Command (Centcom) will coordinate implementation with both countries.

The June agreement, rejected by Hezbollah, sets no timeline for Israel's withdrawal. Israel has said its troops will stay in a 10-kilometer-deep "security zone" until Hezbollah is disarmed.

The next round of talks between Lebanon and Israel, which have no diplomatic ties but have held five rounds of negotiations since the war began, will take place Wednesday and Thursday in Rome. Lebanon has made its participation conditional on Israel's withdrawal from the two pilot zones.

The talks come ahead of President Joseph Aoun's expected visit to Washington later this month, at the invitation of Donald Trump.