BEIRUT, July 22 - Lebanon and Israel are due to meet again on August 4 in Italy for the next round of ambassador-level talks brokered by the United States, a Lebanese official told Reuters on Wednesday. The sessions come as both sides begin carrying out an agreement aimed at sequencing Israeli troop withdrawals and Lebanese army deployments in the south of Lebanon.
The two adversaries have engaged in more than three months of direct, face-to-face discussions that were described by negotiators as a mechanism to end the hostilities that re-emerged after a new war erupted on March 2 between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group, amid the wider regional conflict. It is unusual for ambassador-level delegations to meet directly while the countries remain formally at war and lack standard diplomatic channels after decades of invasions, occupation and cross-border fighting.
Five U.S.-hosted meetings culminated late last month in a framework deal. That framework foresees the disarmament of Hezbollah, the progressive withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the deployment of Lebanese troops in their place. Following the framework, the talks have moved to the Italian capital so that delegations can engage on the technical guidelines for the pilot zones - the geographic areas where the phased process will be implemented.
The pilot-zone programme has already entered its initial implementation phase. This week Israeli forces withdrew from the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, and the Lebanese army began deploying there. Authorities cautioned residents not to return immediately, stating the area must first be cleared of unexploded ordnance.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam visited Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh on Wednesday and raised a Lebanese flag in the town. He said the state would prioritize reopening roads, clearing rubble and restoring public services so that displaced residents could come back. Salam described the Israeli pullback as a meaningful first step, while reiterating Lebanon’s demand for a complete Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territory.
Israel continues to maintain what it calls a buffer zone extending roughly 10 km, or 6 miles, inside Lebanese territory along the border. Within this strip, Israeli forces have ordered local populations to leave and have demolished villages. Israeli officials argue that the zone is necessary to protect communities in northern Israel from attacks by Hezbollah.
Despite a ceasefire that took effect last month, Lebanese security sources say controlled demolitions have continued. Tens of thousands of Lebanese remain displaced, unable to return home because their villages are either occupied by Israeli troops or have been destroyed.
Israeli officials have stated they will stay in southern Lebanon as long as Hezbollah retains its arms. Hezbollah has publicly rejected Lebanon’s direct negotiations with Israel and has not agreed to full disarmament under the framework.
During his first official visit to Washington, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory could remove "the root cause that Hezbollah has long cited as its justification". Aoun told guests at a reception at the Lebanese embassy in Washington that only after such a withdrawal could Hezbollah be disarmed, according to comments shared by his office.
Context and next steps
The immediate focus for the delegations now assembling in Italy will be the operational and safety dimensions of the pilot zones. That includes the sequencing of troop movements, the clearance of unexploded ordnance to permit civilian returns, and the restoration of infrastructure and services in towns affected by recent fighting and demolitions.
Implementation of the framework will be monitored closely by both governments as they seek to translate the ambassador-level agreement into concrete actions on the ground in southern Lebanon.