Israel’s military says efforts to eliminate the threat from Hezbollah’s weapons remain incomplete. Disagreement over disarmament and verification has stalled a US-backed initiative in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah fired into Israel in solidarity with Tehran during the war involving Iran, according to the base report. Israel launched airstrikes and a ground invasion after that attack.
A Lebanese military source accused Israel of trying to force direct coordination between the two armies. Lebanon, the source said, won’t accept an arrangement that places its military under Israeli control. “Israel wants the Lebanese Army to become like Lahad's army, taking orders and carrying out instructions,” the source told Arab News. “That will never happen.” The source compared the proposed role to the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army, once commanded by Antoine Lahad during Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon.
Disarmament and verification
The dispute centers on a framework agreement reached during US-mediated negotiations. The Lebanese military deployed to the initial pilot zones in July, and the agreement provided for a verification mechanism, according to the Lebanese military source. The source accused Israel of obstructing efforts to establish one and said it rejected proposed participation by France, Italy and Germany. Washington, the source added, wasn’t willing to deploy American personnel because of the risks involved.
The source said Israel opposed expanding the pilot zones and wanted the Lebanese Army in a subordinate role. Retired Maj. Gen. Abdel Rahman Shehaitly, Lebanon's former representative in negotiations over the southern land border, also rejected direct coordination. “The Israeli side is making false claims concerning the verification mechanism,” Shehaitly told Arab News. “What Israel really wants is to become the Lebanese army's direct coordinator. That is simply unacceptable.”
Shehaitly said coordination during the Syrian military presence in Lebanon took place through a designated liaison office, rather than directly between Syrian and Lebanese military units on Lebanese territory. Direct coordination between the Lebanese and Israeli armies on the ground in southern Lebanon, he said, couldn’t happen.
Pilot zone under dispute
Israeli forces withdrew from West Zawtar in July in the first test of the pilot-zone initiative. The US-backed plan aims for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament. No additional pilot zones have been agreed since that initial withdrawal, as disagreement over verification and Israel’s opposition to expanding the initiative persist.
The Lebanese military source accused Israeli forces of continuing attacks around West Zawtar after the Lebanese Army deployed. Israeli forces, the source said, were demolishing houses in nearby East Zawtar, while missiles sometimes landed only meters from Lebanese soldiers. The source also accused Israeli forces of targeting Lebanese military vehicles while no agreed verification mechanism existed.
West Zawtar Mayor Abed Ezzedine told Reuters the initiative hadn’t delivered promised improvements. Basic services, including electricity and running water, remained largely unavailable, he said. “In principle, I can tell you that no, it's not successful. Based on what we were promised: that West Zawtar as a pilot zone would be a model town,” Ezzedine said.
Talks remain suspended
The Israeli military told Reuters it was using drones to identify potential threats and said 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 ensuring security for Lebanon and Israel. The spokesperson said the initiative would expand after the Lebanese military completed clearance operations in the initial zone, and described Hezbollah’s disarmament as “an integral part of this process.”
The eighth round of direct Lebanese-Israeli negotiations under US mediation remained suspended. Beirut hadn’t received official notification from Washington of a next meeting date, despite speculation about a military-focused round in Florida before the end of October. Israeli operations continued in the so-called yellow zone, where evacuation threats had prevented displaced residents from trying to return home.
More than a million Lebanese fled their homes after hostilities broke out, the report said. Israeli forces continued deadly strikes despite a ceasefire agreed in June, and Israeli troops remained in a self-declared security zone encompassing dozens of Lebanese villages, many demolished during the military campaign. Iran had made ending the conflict in Lebanon one of its conditions for a broader peace agreement, prompting Washington to intensify efforts to reach a settlement.