Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said Thursday that Israel must leave all of Lebanon “today, or it will be forced to flee tomorrow.” His comments came as reporting in Israel and abroad described ongoing negotiations over a limited Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
According to Channel 13, Israel is preparing for a partial pullback. A U.S. State Department source confirmed that IDF forces have begun withdrawing from part of the buffer zone as a “goodwill gesture” toward the Lebanese government, and that the Lebanese army will move into the areas vacated by the IDF. But a senior officer said there had been no withdrawal so far, and a Lebanese military source told Al Jazeera that no Israeli pullback had been recorded and that Israeli troops were still deployed across the areas they recently occupied.
The IDF is expected to complete a withdrawal from some areas in southern Lebanon in the coming days, as part of understandings reached in Washington between Israel and Lebanon. The plan includes U.S. Army training for the Lebanese army, intended to ensure that forces on the ground are Lebanese army personnel and not Hezbollah members. Some of the areas the IDF is expected to leave are south of the yellow line. A senior Israeli official told Channel 13, “We conquered territory in recent days for negotiations, in order to withdraw from it,” adding that the army will withdraw from only a small area in southern Lebanon, “a few percent of the territory,” and that “we need to let the U.S. try their pilot.”
Negotiations in Washington are continuing over the timing of the withdrawal. An American source quoted by Al Arabiya said Lebanon wants a clear timetable for an Israeli pullback as well as a full ceasefire, while disagreements remain over the schedule. Channel 13 also reported earlier this week that U.S. restrictions on the IDF and the Israeli government have been tightening, with official instructions limiting activity in Lebanon to the yellow line and immediate threats, while banning operations deeper in Beirut and Tyre. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said this week that IDF fighters in southern Lebanon have “full freedom of action” to stop any direct or emerging threat and that Israel will remain in the security buffer zone “as long as necessary.”
