From the Liveblog of
Thursday, July 9, 2026
US military delegation headed to Beirut to work out details of IDF handover of pilot areas to Lebanon
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
A US military delegation will land in Beirut in the coming days to determine how carry out the pilot program involving the handover of territory from the IDF to the Lebanese Armed Forces, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa tells Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
According to the Lebanese readout, “preparations are underway to implement what was agreed upon with respect to the pilot areas,” and “it is essential to avoid any vacuum upon the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the designated area, and based on the outcomes of the coordination meetings, the timeline for on-the-ground implementation will be determined.”
A Lebanese diplomatic source told AFP yesterday that Lebanon is demanding that Israel fulfill its pledge to withdraw from two “pilot zones” in the nation’s south and hand them over to the Lebanese military before it agrees to participate in next week’s talks in Rome.
Issa tells Aoun that the next round of talks was moved to Rome “due solely to technical reasons related to facilitating the travel of ambassadors and delegation members,” and that working groups with specialists will be formed in order to implement the three-way agreement signed in Washington last month.
Issa also tells Aoun that the Lebanese president’s is upcoming visit to Washington “reflects the extent of attention that President Trump accords to Lebanon and his efforts to achieve security and stability there and end the suffering of its people.”
According to his office, Aoun stresses the importance of pressuring Israel to stop its military operations.
The Times of Israel Community.