Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, speaking from the southern village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya on Wednesday, declared that his government is “determined and unwavering” in its pursuit of a complete Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territory. The visit came one day after the Lebanese Armed Forces began deploying to the town, the first of three “pilot zones” established under a tripartite agreement with Israel and the United States signed last month. Salam, who planted a Lebanese flag in the village, said the moment marked “the beginning of the Israeli withdrawal from our land” and pledged to mobilise all political and diplomatic efforts to secure a full pullout.

Under the Washington-sponsored framework, the Lebanese Army is tasked with clearing the pilot zones of Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure, conducting verified clearance operations, and preventing the group from re-establishing military activity. US officials, speaking to Axios, described the initial deployment as “real progress on the ground” and expressed hope that the zones would build confidence and create momentum for a broader withdrawal. The Israeli military, however, characterised the pullback as a test of the Lebanese Army’s sovereignty, and on Tuesday said it fired warning shots into the air after Lebanese soldiers entered an area it considered outside the pilot zone. Hezbollah, which drew Lebanon into the war by attacking Israel on 2 March in support of Tehran, has repeatedly rejected the agreement and refuses to disarm.

On the ground, the army’s deployment was met with a mixture of hope and frustration. Dozens of residents waited at the entrance to Zawtar al-Gharbiya for permission to check on their homes, while ambulances stood by to begin recovering bodies from the rubble. Some locals expressed dissatisfaction that Salam’s visit was conducted without direct engagement with the population; one resident told AFP the prime minister “should have brought the people in with him so he could claim victory.” The army is conducting a sweep of the town, which is contiguous with the Israeli-occupied Zawtar al-Sharqiya, and has urged residents not to enter until the security situation stabilises. Salam said the state would open roads, remove rubble, and restore water, electricity, and telecommunications to enable a dignified return.

The pilot-zone initiative unfolds against a backdrop of intense diplomatic activity. A day earlier, President Joseph Aoun met US President Donald Trump at the White House and stressed the urgent need for a full Israeli withdrawal, while Trump promised to help Lebanon “a lot.” Both leaders, according to Israeli officials cited by Axios, recognise that a breakthrough toward a lasting deal is unlikely before Israel’s October elections. The violence, which killed more than 4,300 people in Lebanon since March, has declined sharply since a US-Iran framework agreement was signed last month, and the UN reports that over 700,000 displaced people have returned home. The next phase of the withdrawal hinges on verification that the Lebanese Army has secured the pilot zones, a mechanism still under negotiation between the three parties.