Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday discussed with Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal ongoing preparations to implement the Washington framework agreement in the designated " pilot zones ", where the Lebanese army is expected to deploy in parallel with an Israeli withdrawal.
According to a statement from the Lebanese presidency, the meeting at Baabda Palace focused on several topics, particularly the situation in the south of the country amid continued Israeli attacks on several towns and villages. A US military delegation is also due to meet Haykal later in the day to discuss implementation of the framework deal, according to Lebanon’s LBCI television.
Lebanese officials are hoping Israel will take concrete steps to implement the trilateral framework agreement signed on 26 June, ahead of a new round of negotiations scheduled to take place in Rome next week.
Official Lebanese sources told The New Arab that Beirut is insisting Israel begin fulfilling its commitments by carrying out a gradual withdrawal within the agreed pilot zones, while at the same time calling on Washington to press Tel Aviv to move forward on the issue. Lebanon is also seeking a clear timetable for the Israeli withdrawal.
The framework has been rejected by Iran-backed Hezbollah , which has refused to abide by the agreement and instead insisted on tying any deal in Lebanon to the broader US-Iran track. While Aoun has welcomed regional efforts for deescalation, he has insisted that no external party should negotiate on Lebanon's behalf.
Speaking on Friday, Aoun said that despite all efforts by the presidency to avoid another war with Israel after the signing of the November 2024 ceasefire, Hezbollah had refused to cooperate, adding that the group's decisions ultimately lay with Iran, according to the Alakhbar Al Yawm news site.
Aoun is scheduled to visit Washington on 21 July to meet US President Donald Trump. During the visit, he will seek military support as well as economic and social assistance for communities affected by the war in southern Lebanon, LBCI reported.
Aoun is also expected to seek US backing for an international conference aimed at supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces. The conference had originally been scheduled for March in Paris but was postponed after the US-Israel war on Iran broke out in late February. A new date has yet to be announced.
Where are the pilot zones?
Under Article Three of the framework agreement, the Lebanese Armed Forces are to gradually assume "full and effective security responsibility" in designated pilot zones. These areas are intended to serve as the mechanism through which Israel carries out a phased and verified redeployment, alongside the posting of the Lebanese army.
The agreement does not identify the pilot zones by name. However, Israeli officials have publicly referred to the towns of Froun, Ghandouriyeh , and Zawtar al-Gharbiya as possible candidates. While there is no Israeli military presence inside these towns, they remain subject to frequent Israeli fire, with Israeli troops deployed in surrounding areas.
The mayors of these villages have publicly rejected the inclusion of their municipalities in the pilot zone plan.
The sources that spoke to TNA said Lebanon is pushing for the pilot zones to include areas currently occupied by Israeli forces south of the Litani River, and that discussions on the issue are ongoing with US officials. Israel, however, insists on maintaining its presence along what it calls the " Yellow Line " – the de-facto buffer zone it created along the border area since expanding its invasion four months ago.
According to the sources, the first pilot zone is expected to become operational within days, with Israel beginning a phased withdrawal tied to Lebanese army deployment, under arrangements to be worked out with a visiting US military delegation in Beirut.
The sources described US pressure on Israel as"unprecedented", arguing that this momentum should be capitalised on to secure a complete ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
They stressed that Aoun remains committed to negotiations with Israel, viewing them as the only viable path to permanently ending the conflict and restoring Lebanese sovereignty.
Israel says it will not leave Lebanon before Hezbollah is fully disarmed – something the group has refused as long as Israeli occupation continues.
Lebanese and Israeli delegations are scheduled to meet in Rome on 14 and 15 July where talks will focus on implementing the framework agreement. Legal and technical experts are expected to attend the talks.
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon since fighting resumed with Hezbollah on 2 March have killed more than 4,300 people and wounded thousands more. Entire towns and villages have been destroyed in the south, with hundreds of thousands still displaced. Since the start of the fragile truce, more than 600,000 displaced have returned home, according to Lebanese authorities.