Conflicting Claims Over Israeli Withdrawal in Southern Lebanon

A U.S. State Department official told Reuters that Israel had pulled back from part of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon as a goodwill gesture toward the Lebanese government, and said the Lebanese army was expected to enter the area.

That account was immediately disputed. A Lebanese military source told Al Jazeera that no Israeli withdrawal had been detected from Lebanese territory and that Israeli forces were still deployed across the areas they had recently occupied.

Israeli military sources also rejected the U.S. claim, telling local media that they had received no order to withdraw from the buffer zone. The article presents no evidence of an actual change on the ground, only contradictory statements from the three sides.