An American State Department official told Reuters that Israel has withdrawn from part of its security belt in Lebanon. The move comes after American mediation and, according to the report, is meant to send a direct message to Beirut and test whether the Lebanese army can secure the area.
Israeli political correspondent Tamir Morag said the plan is not a full withdrawal but a controlled pilot conceived long before the U.S. agreement with Iran. He said the idea was first raised by former minister Ron Dermer in a small cabinet meeting and later reported by Channel 14. Morag warned against what he called a likely propaganda spin, saying, "The Iranians will present this as an achievement of theirs, and unfortunately, there is almost no doubt that some of the Israeli media will eagerly adopt that claim."
According to Reuters, the tested arrangement would transfer security responsibility for part of southern Lebanon to Lebanese army units only after background checks and extensive training in the United States to ensure they have no ties to Hezbollah. Israel would still keep military forces in the buffer area for monitoring, control and close command.
Despite the diplomatic progress in Washington, security officials in Israel oppose relying on any future mechanism that is not based solely on Israeli-American cooperation. They say Hezbollah’s infrastructure must first be destroyed and the group must not reestablish itself. A senior security source said the political echelon has drawn a red line, Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon while active terror infrastructure, armed militants or a direct threat to northern communities remain. Meanwhile, the IDF says it is continuing intensive operations in southern Lebanon to locate and destroy Hezbollah’s underground facilities, including command posts, weapons depots and fortified tunnels, which it sees as essential to any future redeployment.
