A US State Department official told Reuters on Thursday that Israel has begun pulling back from part of its 10-kilometre buffer zone in southern Lebanon, describing the move as a good-faith gesture to the Lebanese government. Within hours, senior Israeli and Lebanese officials publicly denied the claim, with Israeli officers stationed in southern Lebanon telling Israel’s Hayom they had received no withdrawal orders.
The contradiction surfaced as Israeli and Lebanese negotiators continued US-mediated talks in Washington on a “pilot zone” handover that neither side has yet agreed to begin. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Wednesday the negotiations remain separate from US peace talks with Iran, after the two sides began direct discussions in April under US pressure.
What the US State Department Said
The State Department official told Reuters that Israel has “already taken a concrete step by pulling back from a part of its buffer zone.” The official framed the move as a way to let the Lebanese Armed Forces move in and clear out what the official described as terrorist weapons and infrastructure. A summary of the State Department claim of a buffer zone pullback was carried by Reuters on Thursday.
“The Lebanese Armed Forces should now move in and verifiably clear out terrorist weapons and infrastructure,” the official said, per Reuters. “This model will be repeated across South Lebanon, enabling the safe return of displaced families, reconstruction of the south, and the restoration of full Lebanese sovereignty.”
The American source was referring to a so-called “pilot zone” offer that came up during Israeli-Lebanese negotiations, which began before the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Versailles, France, the pilot zone offer in US-mediated Lebanon talks outlined in the same reporting.
Denials From Both Sides
A top Israeli defense official told Reuters the IDF would not be withdrawing from its established buffer zone. Israel’s military separately confirmed there was no change in its soldiers’ locations. Officers stationed at a southern Lebanese position told Israel’s Hayom, “We have not received any instructions to withdraw from the position.”
On the Lebanese side, a senior military official told Reuters that events in recent days “show the opposite of a pullback,” adding that Israeli forces are enforcing their hold in the buffer zone, including against state troops. A Lebanese military source told Al Jazeera the Israeli army is still stationed in all the areas it recently took by force in southern Lebanon.
| Party | Position on Thursday | Stated to |
|---|---|---|
| US State Department | Pullback is underway as a good-faith gesture | Reuters |
| Top Israeli defense official | No withdrawal; the buffer zone stays | Reuters |
| Israeli military | No change in soldiers’ locations | Reuters |
| Lebanese military official | “The opposite of a pullback” | Reuters |
| Lebanese military source | Israeli army still in all areas taken by force | Al Jazeera |
The ‘Pilot Zone’ and the Disagreement
The pilot at the centre of the dispute is a US-backed proposal under which Israeli forces would hand over small sections of southern Lebanon to the Lebanese Armed Forces, contingent on the LAF dismantling what Israel calls terrorist infrastructure and preventing the reestablishment of groups like Hezbollah in the transferred territory. If the LAF proves capable, the IDF would hand over additional areas, the JNS summary said.
The two sides are not yet aligned on where the pilot starts. Lebanon wants the plan implemented inside Israel’s established buffer zone, while Israel wants to begin by withdrawing from areas north of that zone without setting a timeline, the Israeli and Lebanese positions on the pullback laid out by Dawn show.
The disagreement is one of several dispute points in the US-mediated track, which a senior Lebanese military official warned is undermined by what he called continuing Israeli enforcement of the buffer zone “against anyone approaching, including the Lebanese army.”
The US State Department framed its claim of a pullback as a stepping stone. “This model will be repeated across South Lebanon,” the official told Reuters. Israeli and Lebanese officials, by contrast, framed it as a step that has not yet happened on the ground.
Israel’s Condition: Hezbollah Disarmed
Israeli officials on Thursday made clear that any wider withdrawal is conditional on Hezbollah’s disarmament. Government spokesman David Mencer told reporters, “We will not withdraw our forces from southern Lebanon as long as Hezbollah remains a threat, is not disarmed and is not demilitarised.”
We will not withdraw our forces from southern Lebanon as long as Hezbollah remains a threat, is not disarmed and is not demilitarised.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer, addressing reporters in Tel Aviv, per Reuters via Dawn.
Defense Minister Israel Katz struck a similar note, telling reporters the military would remain in “security zones” in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza for as long as necessary. Mencer added: “We’ve already been in this situation in 2024. Hezbollah were supposed to be disarmed. They weren’t.” The JNS report said the Israeli prime minister’s office did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Strikes Continue as the Talks Proceed
The diplomatic language has not stopped the violence. An Israeli drone strike on Thursday hit a vehicle on the road between Zawtar and Mayfadoun in southern Lebanon, killing three people and wounding one, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. An Israeli military official confirmed the strike.
It was the third deadly incident in southern Lebanon since Tuesday. Seven people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon this week, according to Dawn. On June 21, an Israeli airstrike destroyed the Nabatieh branch of Lebanon’s central bank, the Banque du Liban, in what the bank called a “direct and deliberate” attack. A Lebanese army soldier walks past the rubble in a photograph taken the same day by AFP’s Mahmoud Zayyat.
The Iran Deal That Frames the Negotiation
The Israeli-Lebanese talks began before the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Versailles, France, in a deal that the Trump Iran deal sidelining Israel from Lebanon recent reporting has described. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has insisted the bilateral track is separate from the US-Iran track, a position US mediators have not publicly contradicted. The framework sits alongside a separate US-backed mechanism, with Lebanon’s deconfliction cell built without Israel at the table.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Bahrain on Thursday, struck an optimistic note on the broader process. “I think we are very close in our hopes of getting a commitment of intent between the two countries,” Rubio told reporters. “It’ll be a process, it’ll take some time, it’ll take a lot of work, but I can tell you that for the first time in 30 years, the sovereign government of Lebanon is speaking to the government of Israel directly.”
It’ll be a process, it’ll take some time, it’ll take a lot of work, but I can tell you that for the first time in 30 years, the sovereign government of Lebanon is speaking to the government of Israel directly.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters in Bahrain, per Dawn.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the US State Department say about Israel and southern Lebanon?
A US State Department official told Reuters on Thursday that Israel has “already taken a concrete step by pulling back from a part of its buffer zone” in southern Lebanon and called it a “significant demonstration of good faith” toward Lebanon’s government. The official said the Lebanese Armed Forces should now move in and clear out what the official described as terrorist weapons and infrastructure, and that the model would be repeated across southern Lebanon if it works.
Why did Israel deny the US claim of an Israeli pullback?
A top Israeli defense official told Reuters the IDF would not be withdrawing from its established buffer zone, and Israel’s military said there was no change in its soldiers’ locations. Israeli officers at a position in southern Lebanon told Israel’s Hayom, “We have not received any instructions to withdraw from the position.” Government spokesman David Mencer added that forces will not withdraw until Hezbollah is “disarmed and demilitarised.”
What is the “pilot zone” in the Israel-Lebanon talks?
The pilot zone is a US-backed proposal under which Israel would hand over small sections of southern Lebanon to the Lebanese Armed Forces, contingent on the LAF dismantling what Israel calls terrorist infrastructure and preventing the reestablishment of groups like Hezbollah. Lebanon wants the pilot implemented inside Israel’s buffer zone, while Israel wants to start by withdrawing from areas north of the buffer zone, without a timeline.
What is the connection to the US-Iran deal?
The Israeli-Lebanese negotiations began before the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Versailles, France, the American source told Reuters. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has said the bilateral track is separate from the US-Iran track, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has framed the direct Israel-Lebanon talks as the first such contact in 30 years.
Is the fighting in southern Lebanon continuing?
Yes. An Israeli drone strike on Thursday hit a vehicle between Zawtar and Mayfadoun, killing three people. Seven people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon this week, according to Dawn. On June 21, an Israeli airstrike destroyed the Nabatieh branch of Lebanon’s central bank, the Banque du Liban.
