A new round of talks between Lebanon and Israel is set to begin Tuesday and run through Thursday, focusing on pilot zones and a gradual Israeli withdrawal, alongside the deployment of the Lebanese Army into areas vacated by the IDF. A Lebanese source told the Hezbollah-linked newspaper Al-Diyar that both political and military delegations will take part on the first day, and said President Joseph Aoun stressed in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that stabilizing the ceasefire is the priority, because other steps depend on it.
The same source said the idea of pilot zones and withdrawals from them remains unclear, while Lebanon’s army is ready to deploy in areas left by Israeli forces without direct coordination or cooperation. After a day marked by repeated incidents, a senior officer said late Saturday that the political leadership ordered the IDF to halt fire beyond the yellow line in Lebanon. Despite that order, Israel Defense Forces officials said fighting continues in an strategic focus and will not stop there.
The IDF says it has no intention of conquering Lebanon and is acting under civilian directives to remove threats from northern Israeli communities. The same officer also said the army remains on high alert amid reports of threats from Iran, with no change in instructions for now.
Meanwhile, the IDF cleared for publication the name of the fourth soldier killed in the tank disaster in southern Lebanon, Staff Sgt. Naveh Havshush, 20, from Geva Binyamin, a tank crewman in Battalion 52 of the 401st Brigade. He fell alongside Staff Sgt. Liav Kababia, 20, of Hod HaSharon, Staff Sgt. Yoav Klein, 21, of Herzliya, and Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Shimon, 32, from Kibbutz Beit Hashita. The incident happened shortly after midnight between Thursday and Friday, when a suspected aerial target hit a tank near the village of Tebnine.
The military also named Staff Sgt. Nir Ben Ari, 21, a Maglan fighter from Kerem Maharal, who was killed when a drone exploded in southern Lebanon. Thirteen other troops were wounded in that incident, including two seriously, one moderately and the rest lightly. Since the northern campaign resumed about three months ago, 36 soldiers have been killed, 22 of them after the ceasefire was declared. Since the war began, 962 IDF soldiers have been killed, including 473 in Gaza and 83 in southern Lebanon.
