Lebanon claims Israeli troops entered ‘pilot zone’ town handed over to LAF last month, built earthen barrier; IDF: ‘Unaware’ of incident

Lebanese state media and a south Lebanon mayor claim that Israeli forces last night infiltrated a village that was recently handed back to the Lebanese military as part of the “pilot zone” program, adding that Israeli troops built an earthen barrier in the area and blocked a road.

Contacted by AFP, the Israel Defense Forces says it was “not aware of such an event in this area.”

“An Israeli occupation army force advanced into the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya shortly after midnight… and erected a new earthen barrier near the town square,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reports. Zawtar al-Gharbiya was a designated “pilot zone” where the Lebanese army took over from the IDF last month as part of a US-sponsored framework agreement signed with Israel.

The town’s mayor, Abed Ezzeddine, tells AFP that he was surprised to see the barrier in the morning, located near the town square.

A Lebanese military source corroborates the incident and tells AFP it was a violation of the framework agreement.

Separately, the Lebanese military reports that “three soldiers were wounded, one of them moderately, while dismantling unexploded ordnance” in Zawtar al-Gharbiya.