Israeli shelling obstructs Lebanese army deployment in south Lebanon pilot villages

The Lebanese army says Israeli shelling and clearance operations are preventing it from fully taking over security in agreed pilot villages in southern Lebanon. The military said its troops deployed on Tuesday to the first of three villages designated under a US-backed withdrawal arrangement. It said the continuing attacks are also delaying the return of residents to their homes.

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In a statement on Sunday, the army said Israeli forces were still carrying out shelling, bulldozing and combing operations in areas covered by the plan. The villages named for the first phase of the arrangement are Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Froun and Srifa. The army said the continuation of these assaults hinders the completion of its deployment and prevents civilians from returning to their towns and villages.

The military said parts of western Zawtar, Tibnit and Nabatieh al-Fawqa were still coming under Israeli gunfire even as civilians returned. It also said Israeli operations were taking place in Nabatieh, Hdda, Kunin, Bint Jbeil, Nabi Ibel al-Saqi, Khiam, al-Mansouri and Bayt al-Siyad, as well as Majdal Zoun in Tyre. The army added that a water project in Markaba was blown up and that olive trees and farmland were razed on the outskirts of Aitaroun.

The dispute matters because it affects the implementation of a recent agreement intended to produce a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. That arrangement, signed last month and backed by the United States, was meant to allow Lebanese forces to assume security responsibilities in stages. Any delay in that process has direct consequences for displaced residents hoping to return and for the wider stability of the border area.

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The latest developments also underline the fragility of the security understanding in the south. The Lebanese army said concerns have persisted over the lack of a clear exit schedule from Israel. Israel has said its presence in parts of southern Lebanon is necessary to fight Hezbollah, while the armed group has rejected the deal and demanded an unconditional Israeli withdrawal.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visited Washington last week and met US President Donald Trump in an effort to press for Israeli compliance with the agreement. Reporting from Zawtar al-Gharbiya, a correspondent said displaced residents had returned to homes reduced to rubble, while the Israeli army had withdrawn to the edge of the village but was conditioning further movement on the dismantling of Hezbollah. What remains unclear is whether the deployment to the remaining pilot villages will proceed on schedule and whether the shelling and clearance operations will ease enough to allow civilian return.

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