Qatar and Pakistan, which are mediating contacts between the United States and Iran, said in a joint statement that a new “de-confliction cell” will be created in Lebanon to help ensure compliance with an end to military operations there. The announcement did not explain how the mechanism would work in practice, who would sit on it, or how it would operate on the ground.
A de-confliction cell is a direct communication and coordination channel meant to prevent incidents, military accidents, or unintended escalation caused by misunderstandings in the field. According to the mediators, the Lebanon cell would involve the United States, Iran and Lebanon, but Israel and Hezbollah were not mentioned. Orna Mizrahi of the Institute for National Security Studies said it is “hard to understand who the members will be, how it will be done and how it will be reflected on the ground.”
Retired Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, a former head of the Defense Ministry’s political-military bureau, said meaningful security arrangements would be impossible without Israel in the picture and with Hezbollah outside the deal. He said the Lebanese army is too weak to enforce anything substantial, and added that Donald Trump wanted Syria involved, but Damascus declined, saying it had enough to do representing the Syrian regime and did not need “adventures in Lebanon.”
Theoretically, such a mechanism could limit IDF freedom of action, require advance notice before strikes on suspected Hezbollah activity, and coordinate engineering work such as removing underground infrastructure and tunnels in southern Lebanon. But both analysts argued it is unlikely to work effectively, because there is no real enforcement mechanism. Mizrahi said Israel will care mainly about whether the arrangement does not interfere with its new strategy and preserves a ceasefire under terms acceptable to it, especially as talks with the Lebanese government are beginning in Washington.
This is not the first such arrangement: in 2024, a ceasefire-related mechanism was created with Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL, led by the United States and supported by France. According to an INSS paper by retired Brig. Gen. Assaf Orion, it provided a platform for liaison, coordination and information-sharing between the IDF and the Lebanese army to prevent friction and advance the demilitarization of southern Lebanon, but later gaps emerged in demilitarization efforts, partly because of flaws in the mechanism’s monitoring and documentation.
