Lebanese army says troops deploying in 'pilot zone' after Israeli withdrawal

Lebanon's army says its troops have begun deploying to a "pilot zone" in the south of the country following the withdrawal of Israeli forces under a US-brokered agreement reached last month.A statement from the army command said units had entered the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh in Nabatieh district on Tuesday morning.On Monday night, Israel's military confirmed the start of the pilot zone plan, which should see Israeli troops pulling out of a small part of the territory occupied during their conflict with Hezbollah as well as the disarmament of the Iran-backed group.It comes ahead of a meeting in Washington between US President Donald Trump and his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun.Aoun is expected to urge Trump to put pressure on Israel to withdraw from the rest of southern Lebanon and to provide support to the Lebanese army to take full control of areas where Hezbollah holds sway.The US state department announced on Monday afternoon that "pilot zone operations" had begun in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh and two other Lebanese villages, Froun and Srifa, in line with the Trilateral Framework agreement between Israel, Lebanon and the US.It said the "milestone" was the direct result of discussions last week between Israeli and Lebanese representatives in Rome.Later on Monday, an Israeli military official confirmed that the Israel-defense-forces" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="391" data-entity-type="organization">Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would "adjust its force posture in one of the pilot areas" to allow the Lebanese army to carry out its mission, while also "safeguarding the security of IDF soldiers and preserving its right to self-defence and to remove threats".