From the Liveblog of
Monday, July 20, 2026
IDF says it’s ‘coordinating and planning’ with US and Lebanese army as part of south Lebanon ‘pilot program’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF says it is conducting “coordination and planning” with the US military and Lebanese Armed Forces as part of the pilot program in southern Lebanon.
“In accordance with the directives from the political echelon, the ‘Safe Zone’ pilot program began today (Monday) in southern Lebanon, in cooperation with the US military (CENTCOM) and the Lebanese Armed Forces,” the IDF says in a statement.
It says that as part of the pilot, “teams from the IDF, the US military, and the Lebanese Armed Forces are conducting coordination and planning for the continued implementation of the agreement.”
The IDF will withdraw and redeploy forces in one of the two pilot zones, in the Zawtar Al-Gharbiya area, to enable the Lebanese army to enter, with a report earlier today saying the pullback will happen tomorrow.
The Israeli military sees the pilot program as a test of sovereignty for the Lebanese Army.
The final process of the pilot has not yet been decided.
In the event of violations of the ceasefire by Hezbollah, the IDF says it will work with a US-led coordination cell to resolve them.
The Times of Israel Community.