US says Lebanese army must take control; Israel insists no withdrawal until Hezbollah is disarmed; senior Lebanese official says unaware of any pullback

A person looks at a house destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on June 25 (local time). [Reuters]
A person looks at a house destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on June 25 (local time). [Reuters]

The United States said Israel has withdrawn troops from parts of the buffer zone it established in southern Lebanon, but Israel officially denied the claim.

Reuters cited a Department of State official on June 25 (local time) as saying Israel had pulled back forces from some areas of southern Lebanon it had occupied during its war against Hezbollah.

"The Lebanese Armed Forces now need to move into those areas," the official said, adding that Israel "has already taken concrete steps by pulling back from parts of the buffer zone — this is an important goodwill gesture toward the Lebanese government."

The official did not disclose the size or exact location of the areas from which troops had withdrawn.

The official also said the Lebanese army must enter those areas and verifiably dismantle weapons and infrastructure belonging to terrorist organizations. If the model were expanded across all of southern Lebanon, the official added, it would allow displaced civilians to return safely, enable reconstruction and restore Lebanon's full sovereignty.

Israel's government, however, swiftly denied the withdrawal reports.

According to AFP, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said at a press briefing that "as long as Hezbollah remains a threat and has not been disarmed or demilitarized, we will not withdraw our forces from southern Lebanon."

A senior Lebanese security official said he was unaware of any Israeli withdrawal from the buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

Israel and Lebanon are holding US-mediated talks in Washington aimed at halting hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is on a Middle East tour, said in Kuwait on June 25 that he was pushing to establish and expand so-called "pilot zones" — areas where the Lebanese Armed Forces would move into parts of southern Lebanon currently held by Israeli troops and take control to maintain security.

"The Lebanese Armed Forces and the Lebanese government need to progressively control and secure more of their own territory," Rubio said. "The more zones the Lebanese army secures, the less Hezbollah controls, and the more Israel will reduce its presence in Lebanon. That is the essence of these negotiations."

Rubio said the two sides came close to signing a letter of intent on a troop reduction plan for southern Lebanon during this week's fifth round of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.

But Mencer said Israel "will not allow any terrorist presence near our borders," and that any redeployment of Israeli forces "means after the demilitarization of southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah."

"We already went through the exact same situation in 2024," Mencer said. "At that time, Hezbollah was supposed to be disarmed, but they did not keep their promises."


mokiya@heraldcorp.com