Overview
- Delegations from Israel and Lebanon opened a three-day, U.S.-brokered session in Rome to press for expansion of pilot zones in southern Lebanon where the Lebanese Armed Forces would assume control.
- The pilot-zone plan ties phased Israeli withdrawals to LAF deployment and verified removal of non-state fighters, using maps, sequencing and outside verification to certify each step.
- Washington is pressing Beirut to target Hezbollah’s infrastructure as a condition for broader implementation, and the U.S. is coordinating military and technical support for the transfer process.
- Hezbollah’s leadership has publicly rejected direct talks with Israel, and Lebanese political divisions plus ongoing Israeli strikes have left implementation fragile and contested on the ground.
- A limited pilot withdrawal already allowed the LAF to deploy in one area and let some residents return, but unresolved verification rules, timetables and buy-in from key actors will determine whether talks produce lasting security changes.