Israel has begun pulling forces out of parts of its buffer zone in southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese Army expected to fill the vacuum. The withdrawal marks the first tangible movement under a ceasefire framework that the United States helped negotiate earlier this month.
What’s actually happening on the ground
The withdrawal covers select portions of the buffer zone Israel has maintained in southern Lebanon. These areas are being transferred to the Lebanese Army under what’s being described as a pilot program, essentially a test run for broader territorial handovers.
The US is handling the training and vetting of Lebanese troops set to deploy in these zones. The explicit goal is to ensure that units taking over have no affiliations with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group that has been Israel’s primary adversary in the region for decades.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon has announced plans to eventually pull Israeli forces back to the Litani River, roughly 30 km north of the border.
