A U.S. Military Delegation Will Head to Lebanon to Monitor the Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire

According to the newspaper’s sources, representatives of US Central Command will arrive in the country before talks between Lebanon and Israel, which are due to take place in Rome next week. There, technical teams from the two sides will work through the details of the framework agreement signed on June 26.

The document requires Israel to withdraw troops from two “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon, parts of which it currently occupies. Control over these areas is then supposed to be handed to the Lebanese army. The agreement is also expected to set in motion the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon as a whole—Israel currently holds a self-declared “security zone” that in places extends up to 10 km into Lebanese territory.

At the same time, the document contains no specific timetable for the troop withdrawal, and it has drawn sharp criticism inside Lebanon. Hezbollah and its supporters called the deal a “serious mistake”, while many other political forces consider it excessively favorable to Israel. One of the most disputed provisions is a ban on Beirut appealing to international courts with accusations of Israeli war crimes.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, at a meeting with US ambassador Michel Issa, said Washington should “put pressure on Israel” to ensure compliance with the ceasefire terms.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Lebanese army is eventually supposed to become the only force controlling the country’s south—after the “verified disarmament” of nonstate armed groups. This primarily concerns Hezbollah, which rejects any attempts at disarmament. Israel, for its part, says its troops will remain in the “security zone” as long as the Iran-backed group retains its weapons.

According to FT, key details of the mechanism for monitoring and verifying implementation of the agreements have not yet been agreed. Lebanese officials say the US will oversee the implementation of the agreement.

This week, four people were killed in an Israeli strike on a car in Lebanon, among them a school principal and her mother, Lebanese authorities said. In total, more than 4,300 people have been killed since the conflict escalated in March.

Lebanese officials and a Western diplomat told FT that Beirut expects “some movement” from Israel on one of the pilot zones, but is not sure it will happen before the meeting in Rome. There is no consensus among Lebanese authorities on whether to take part in the talks if Israel has not begun withdrawing troops by then.