“Members of the Lebanese government are Hezbollah ministers, and Lebanon cannot be trusted to take Hezbollah’s weapons. Only Israeli soldiers will destroy Hezbollah; no other party will do it for us.”
According to Israeli media reports, the Israeli army is preparing to begin the pilot phase of its withdrawal from southern Lebanon as early as Sunday under a recently signed framework agreement between Beirut and Tel Aviv.
The withdrawal is expected to begin from one of the two “pilot zones” specified in the agreement, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported.
KAN said no official details have been released on the locations or timetable for the withdrawal.
“Under the agreement, a direct communication channel is also expected to be opened between Israel and Lebanon,” the broadcaster said.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli army “will continue to station forces in the ‘security zone’ in southern Lebanon, including the Shqeif area, and will not withdraw before Hezbollah is disarmed across all of Lebanon.”
He said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the military to prepare for an “extended stay” in the area.
Israel uses the term “security zone” to refer to a buffer strip extending several kilometres inside Lebanese territory along the border, established in 2024 and 2025 and expanded following intensified Israeli attacks since March 2.
“The important principle established in the agreement is that there will be no redeployment of Israel in southern Lebanon, no withdrawal, as long as Hezbollah is not disarmed throughout Lebanon,” Katz said.
On Friday, Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement under US mediation that stipulates a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, beginning with two unnamed pilot areas.
However, the agreement sets no timetable for withdrawal from the two “pilot zones” or from all occupied Lebanese territory. It also links withdrawal to the Lebanese army assuming full and effective security control over evacuated areas and to the disarmament of all non-state armed groups, with specific reference to Hezbollah.
The Shqeif area is one of southern Lebanon’s most strategic locations, situated on elevated terrain near a bend in the Litani River and overlooking large parts of southern Lebanon and the Galilee in northern Israel.
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