The Lebanese army began implementing the “experimental areas” plan in the south of the country on Monday, as its units reached the Al-Sawan area in Qaqaiyat Al-Jisr, and established a military point near the Imam Musa Al-Sadr reserve.
This step comes as part of preparations to enter the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya as soon as the imminent withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from it is completed.
The army command announced in a statement on Monday afternoon that military units are continuing to carry out their assigned tasks in the southern regions, including the towns of Frun (Bint Jbeil district) and Srifa (Tyre district).
The statement also clarified that the army command is conducting continuous coordination and follow-up with the “Military Coordination Group for Lebanon” to arrange for the start of military deployment in the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, which belongs to the Nabatieh district, as soon as the occupation forces completely withdraw from it.
The army command urged citizens not to go to Zawtar al-Gharbiya at the present time, stressing the need to fully comply with the directives and instructions of the military units deployed in the area, in order to preserve their security and safety.
These field movements precede the anticipated meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday. They also coincide with the US State Department's announcement, just hours earlier, of the commencement of "pilot zone" operations in the villages of Frun, Srifa, and Zawtar al-Gharbiya.
A statement from the US State Department read, “Today, pilot operations began in the villages of Frun, Srifa, and Zawtar al-Gharbiya, in accordance with the tripartite framework agreement and under the supervision of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon.”
On June 26, Lebanon and Israel concluded a framework agreement after five rounds of negotiations, which stipulates in particular the disarmament of Hezbollah, Israel’s gradual withdrawal from the territories it had invaded in southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army starting from “two pilot areas.”
Hezbollah refuses to surrender its weapons and to negotiate directly with Israel and its outcomes.
The framework agreement does not specify a timetable for withdrawal, while Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that their forces will not withdraw from a “security zone” ten kilometers deep from their borders until Hezbollah is disarmed, a step that analysts doubt the Lebanese state’s ability to accomplish.
President Joseph Aoun met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday in Washington and is expected to meet with Trump on Tuesday.
Aoun's visit to Washington comes amid renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran, raising fears of a renewed escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
On the ground, Israeli forces carried out a bombing in the town of Taybeh in the Marjeyoun district of southern Lebanon. The army also set fire to houses in the town of Kfar Tebnit, according to the official Lebanese National News Agency.
An Israeli drone dropped two sound bombs on Monday afternoon, targeting the Marjeyoun plain and the airspace of the town of Mansouri in southern Lebanon.
Israeli warplanes conducted mock raids on the northern border and over the Akkar highlands in northern Lebanon and Hermel in eastern Lebanon.
Israeli drones were spotted flying over Beirut and its suburbs this morning.
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