Lebanese official says launch of ‘pilot areas’ to begin within days after Rome talks

A senior Lebanese official stated on Wednesday that the implementation of a plan to create two pilot zones in southern Lebanon from which the Israeli army will eventually withdraw is expected to begin within days, as the second day of direct Lebanon-Israel talks in Rome concluded.

“The implementation of the two pilot zones would begin within days in response to a Lebanese request,” the official told Anadolu, requesting anonymity.

He stressed that progress had been made by the end of the Rome discussions.

The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, citing an Israeli official, said the withdrawal could begin within days, describing the Rome talks as “productive.”

“Further preparations and agreements are needed before the initial phases of the pilot zones can be implemented," he said.

“This will be achieved in the coming days,” the official said. "We estimate this will be achieved within the next few days.”

The official said the Rome discussions reinforced Israeli-Lebanese agreement on the need to disarm Hezbollah and continue implementing the trilateral framework agreement.

He added that any future expansion of the pilot-zone model would depend on the successful implementation of the initial phase, without identifying the two pilot zones.

The official claimed that the pilot zones will test Lebanon's ability “to exercise sovereignty” by implementing the agreed conditions through the Lebanese army, with compliance to be verified by an unspecified third party.

He said neither the UN peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) nor the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) would participate in the verification mechanism.

Earlier Wednesday, the second day of the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations held in the Italian capital concluded after discussions on several files raised between the two sides, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.

The talks focused particularly on issues related to the two “pilot zones,” NNA said.

Earlier, a US State Department spokesperson confirmed that the talks in Rome were “productive and held in a positive atmosphere.”

The two-day talks in Rome, which began on Tuesday, followed five rounds in Washington, DC, that resulted in the signing of a framework agreement.

The US-sponsored framework deal signed on June 26 between Beirut and Tel Aviv provides for a phased Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory beginning with two “pilot zones.”

The agreement does not set a timetable for the withdrawal and links it to the Lebanese army assuming full security responsibility in areas vacated by Israeli forces and the disarmament of non-state armed groups, with specific reference to the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

The Rome talks came as Israel continued its attacks in Lebanon, which have killed at least 4,324 people, injured 12,223, and displaced more than 1 million since March 2, according to official Lebanese figures.​​​​​​​

Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, some held for decades and others seized during the 2023-24 war.