Overview
- Delegations from Israel and Lebanon met in Rome at the US embassy for a new two‑day round of direct talks to implement the framework agreed at the end of June.
- Lebanon’s presidency ordered its team to demand the immediate start of Israeli withdrawals from the two pilot zones before further discussions proceed.
- Israel says it will only withdraw gradually in areas free of Hezbollah and wants to retain a roughly 10‑kilometre security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed and the Lebanese army can keep those areas neutral.
- The United States is handling operational planning with Lebanese army officers in Beirut about how one pilot handover would work while Lebanese forces say they are ready to assume control step by step.
- Hezbollah and its backer Iran reject disarmament and the talks, a stance that deepens mistrust and makes implementation uncertain and liable to spill across the border into renewed fighting.