More than a million Lebanese fled their homes after hostilities broke out seven months ago, and many still can’t return. In the so-called yellow zone, Israeli military operations continue, and evacuation threats have kept displaced residents from even trying to go back. Now the diplomatic process intended to bring them home has stalled. The eighth round of direct Lebanese-Israeli negotiations under US mediation remains suspended, and Beirut says it hasn’t received official notification from Washington about the next meeting date.
The Humanitarian Picture
The war began when Israel launched airstrikes and a ground invasion after Hezbollah fired into Israel in solidarity with Tehran during the war involving Iran. A ceasefire was agreed in June. Israeli forces have continued deadly strikes in Lebanon anyway. Israeli troops still control a self-declared security zone covering dozens of Lebanese villages, many demolished during the military campaign.
West Zawtar was meant to show that a better path existed. Israeli forces withdrew from the town in July, the first test of a US-backed pilot-zone initiative designed to secure a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament. Mayor Abed Ezzedine told Reuters the initiative hasn’t worked. Basic services, including electricity and running water, remain largely unavailable. “In principle, I can tell you that no, it’s not successful,” Ezzedine said. “Based on what we were promised: that West Zawtar as a pilot zone would be a model town.”
Some voices in Lebanon have criticized the government for failing to create conditions for displaced residents to return to pilot zones such as West Zawtar. No additional pilot zones have been agreed since that first withdrawal.
A Dispute Over Who Gives the Orders
The stalled talks reflect a fight over verification and command. A Lebanese military source told Arab News that Israel is waging a systematic campaign against the Lebanese Armed Forces to force direct coordination between the two armies. Lebanon, the source said, would never accept an arrangement placing its military under Israeli control. “Israel wants the Lebanese Army to become like Lahad’s army, taking orders and carrying out instructions,” the source said. “That will never happen.” The comparison refers to the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army, once commanded by Antoine Lahad during Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon.
The source said the Lebanese military deployed to the initial pilot zones in July under a framework agreement reached in US-mediated negotiations. According to the source, the agreement explicitly provided for a verification mechanism. The source accused Israel of repeatedly obstructing efforts to establish one, including by rejecting French, Italian and German participation. “Israel has so far refused every proposed verification mechanism and is opposed to the success of any initiative to expand the pilot zones,” the source said. Washington, the source added, wasn’t willing to deploy American personnel to such a mechanism because of the risks.
Retired Maj. Gen. Abdel Rahman Shehaitly, Lebanon’s former representative in negotiations over the southern land border, also rejected direct coordination. “What Israel really wants is to become the Lebanese army’s direct coordinator. That is simply unacceptable,” he told Arab News. He pointed to history. “Even during the 30 years of Syrian military presence in Lebanon, there was never direct coordination between Syrian and Lebanese military units on Lebanese territory,” he said. Coordination, he said, always ran through a designated liaison office.
Fire Near Lebanese Soldiers
The Lebanese military source also described the danger on the ground. Israeli forces, the source said, continue attacks around West Zawtar despite the Lebanese Army’s deployment. “Israeli forces continue to demolish houses in nearby East Zawtar. Missiles fly over the heads of Lebanese soldiers and sometimes land just meters away from them,” the source said. The source also accused Israeli forces of targeting Lebanese military vehicles while the parties had no agreed verification mechanism in place.
Israel sees the situation differently. Its criticism centers on what it calls the Lebanese military’s inadequate efforts to disarm Hezbollah and inspect facilities suspected of belonging to the Iran-backed group. Asked by Reuters, the Israeli military said efforts to eliminate the threat posed by Hezbollah’s weapons remained incomplete. It said it used drones to identify potential threats and that restrictions on residents’ movements were intended to protect Israeli troops.
A US State Department spokesperson called the pilot-zone process “the only viable path” to security for Lebanon and Israel. The spokesperson said the initiative would expand once the Lebanese military completed clearance operations in the initial zone, and that Hezbollah’s disarmament was “an integral part of this process.” Speculation has circulated about a military-focused round of talks in Florida before the end of October. No date has been formally communicated to the Lebanese side.
Why This Matters: The pilot-zone plan was meant to trade a gradual Israeli withdrawal for Hezbollah’s disarmament, but so far it has delivered neither. Residents of West Zawtar still lack electricity and running water, while displaced families elsewhere can’t test whether going home is safe. Israel’s security concern about Hezbollah’s weapons is real, and Lebanon’s refusal to let its army fall under Israeli command is real too. There’s no verification mechanism, no new zones and no scheduled talks; the people paying for the impasse are those who fled. A ceasefire that exists alongside continued strikes and demolished villages is hard to call a settlement. The longer diplomacy stalls, the harder it gets for civilians to believe one is coming.