Lebanese and Israeli negotiators, meeting under US auspices in Rome, have agreed on the structure and guidelines for two pilot zones in southern Lebanon from which Israeli troops are to withdraw, with implementation set to begin within days. A US State Department official described the two-day session as “productive and positive” and said the participants would now move to expanded technical talks aimed at a comprehensive agreement. Lebanese presidency sources told local broadcasters that the start of the pilot-zone process could be announced within hours and that a statement specifying the date was expected before the end of the week.

Viewed from Beirut, the agreement represents a concrete step towards enforcing the trilateral framework signed in Washington in June. President Joseph Aoun told visitors at the presidential palace that the framework was “the best possible” and was beginning to yield results, adding that the Lebanese file was now on the table of US President Donald Trump. Lebanese negotiators pressed for the swiftest possible timeline, while acknowledging, according to a source cited by The National, that “the Israelis may try to drag out the process.” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had signalled readiness on Tuesday to move forward with the two zones, but Israeli officials have consistently maintained that forces will remain in a 10-kilometre-deep security strip along the frontier as long as Hezbollah stays armed.

The pilot zones are mixed areas: one where an Israeli occupation exists and from which a withdrawal is to occur, and another on the borders of occupied territory where the Lebanese army’s strength is to be reinforced. Lebanese media named Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh, al-Ghandouriyeh, Burj Qalaway, Srifa and Froun as localities included in the initial plan. A virtual military meeting between the two sides is expected on Friday to finalise the operational details and the start date. Verification of the withdrawal and the return of civilians will be referred to a third party, with Lebanese officials indicating a preference for UN agencies such as UNIFIL and UNTSO, though no final decision has been taken.

The framework agreement, brokered after a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war, calls for the disarmament of the Iran-backed group, the deployment of Lebanese troops in the south, and a phased Israeli withdrawal. Hezbollah, which drew Lebanon into the broader Middle East war by attacking Israel in March, has rejected the accord and is not a party to the talks. The Lebanese government, which did not participate in the fighting, faces structural constraints in disarming a movement that operates as a state within a state. Israel, for its part, continues to carry out occasional strikes and detonations in border villages it occupies. President Aoun is due in Washington on 21 June for talks with President Trump, and a US statement outlining what was agreed in Rome, along with the timing of the next meeting, is expected shortly.