Lebanon Announced The Deployment Of Its Military Forces In The South Of The Country
- 22.07.2026, 12:51
After the IDF withdrew from there.
Ahead of talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun in Beirut announced the start of the deployment of Lebanese military units to areas previously under the control of the Israeli army, according to BBC.
On Tuesday, July 21, the Lebanese Army reported that its units had taken control of one of the “pilot zones” in the south of the country following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area.
The area in question is the small village of Zavtar al-Gharbiya in the Nabatieh Governorate in southern Lebanon. Lebanese authorities have urged the country’s residents to refrain from visiting this village “until the security situation stabilizes.”
The Agreement and the Creation of “Pilot” Zones
On Monday evening, the Israeli army confirmed the start of implementation of a plan to create a “pilot” zone in southern Lebanon. The creation of such zones is provided for in a trilateral framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, which was signed in Washington in late June. The document sets forth an agreement on the phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, beginning with two “pilot” zones.
In addition, the agreement between Beirut and Tel Aviv provides for the disarmament of the Iran-backed “Hezbollah” group operating in Lebanon.
Israel had previously emphasized that the IDF would remain in a “security zone” — a 10-kilometer strip of occupied Lebanese territory along the shared border — “for as long as necessary” to protect northern Israeli communities.
This week, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and his wife are on an official visit to the United States. This is the first visit by a Lebanese leader to the U.S. since 2009. A meeting between Donald Trump and Joseph Aoun is scheduled for July 21.
Aoun is expected to urge Trump to pressure Israel to ensure that the IDF withdraws from other areas in southern Lebanon and transfers full control of that territory to the Lebanese Army.
On Monday, July 20, the U.S. State Department announced the start of operations in a “pilot zone”—in the villages of Zavtar al-Gharbiyeh, Frun, and Srifa. At that time, the Lebanese Army confirmed that its troops were already carrying out operations in the villages of Frun and Srifa.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing a source, claims that there were no Israeli troops in these villages.
Casualties in Lebanon and Israel
Lebanon was drawn into the war between Israel, the U.S., and Iran on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in response to an Israeli strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader.
Israel, in turn, began striking Lebanon and invaded the southern regions of the country.
In late June, Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement after a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect. At the same time, the group’s militants continued to fire upon and launch drone attacks against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, while the Israelis carried out precision strikes on targets in the area and, as reported by the Lebanese press, leveling villages in the buffer zone established by the IDF.
This buffer zone on Lebanese territory, about ten kilometers deep, stretches along the entire border with Israel.
According to Lebanese authorities, since the start of the new round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2, more than 4,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, including nearly 800 children, women, and medical personnel. The Lebanese authorities have not disclosed how many of those killed were “Hezbollah” militants.
On the Israeli side, at least 37 soldiers and four civilians have been killed.