The Israeli army has announced the start of a pilot phase for so-called “security zones” in southern Lebanon, carried out in cooperation with the United States and the Lebanese armed forces.
In a statement posted on X, the Israel Defense Forces said Israeli, American and Lebanese military teams had conducted joint coordination and planning activities as part of implementing the agreement. Following directives from Israel’s political leadership, the “Safe Zone” pilot programme began on Monday in southern Lebanon, working alongside US Central Command and the Lebanese Armed Forces.
The Israeli military cautioned that it “will act forcefully against any violation of the agreement,” though it offered no further detail on the plan’s next steps.
The announcement came after a briefing from the US State Department, which said pilot safe zone operations were already under way in the southern Lebanese villages of Frun, Shrifa and Zawtar al-Gharbiya, under what is being called the Tripartite Framework Agreement.
