IDF forces have not yet begun withdrawing from southern Lebanon and have not received orders on which areas to leave or the timeline, according to N13/Army Radio's Moriah Asraf and Doron Kadosh. The specific withdrawal zones have not been published, beyond general descriptions given this evening by a senior political source regarding areas currently under Israeli control north of the Litani River.
IDF forces have not yet begun withdrawing from southern Lebanon and have not received operational orders specifying which areas to vacate or the timeline, Moriah Asraf and Doron Kadosh (N13 / Army Radio) reported Friday at 22:12 Jerusalem time.
The report is the latest in a fast-moving series of developments Friday evening. At 19:52 Jerusalem, multiple reports emerged in quick succession: first, a Lebanese source told Al Jazeera that agreement had been reached on two areas for withdrawal (version 1); a Lebanese source then told Army Radio that the pilot zones were a prelude to full withdrawal (version 2); an unconfirmed Al Jazeera report added details about Lebanese army entry and mutual recognition of sovereignty (version 3); a senior Israeli official then confirmed to Army Radio that a framework for withdrawal from two zones existed (version 4); and the same reporters later identified the zones as areas west of Slouqi and south of the Litani River (version 5). The 22:12 report now shows that despite the high-level confirmations, troops on the ground have yet to receive specific orders or a timeline.
The developments follow weeks of contradictory signals. As The Zioneer reported, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated on June 23 that Israeli forces are not leaving Lebanon (June 23, 14:02 Jerusalem), a senior security official said on June 21 that the IDF would not withdraw (June 21, 13:11 Jerusalem), and Israeli officials dismissed reports of a withdrawal on June 22 (June 22, 10:52 Jerusalem). A Channel 12 report on June 25 indicated Israel was moving toward a partial withdrawal despite official denials (June 25, 23:05 Jerusalem), while the same day a US State Department claim of a 'goodwill' pullback was denied by both the IDF and Lebanese military sources (June 25, 12:08 Jerusalem).
What remains unclear is which specific areas the withdrawal would cover, whether the two reported zones are the only ones, what timeline the orders would set, and to what extent Israel would retain freedom of action — including the ability to strike imminent threats or prevent Hezbollah buildup south of the Litani — after any pullback. No orders have been issued.
6 developments
- DevelopingMilitary analyst: IDF retains freedom of action in southern Lebanon, no withdrawal from occupied areas
- DevelopingSenior Israeli security official: IDF will not withdraw from southern Lebanon
- StrongIDF: Forces remain in southern Lebanon following political directive
- DevelopingIDF maintains operations in southern Lebanon, military says
Source and signal
- Internal intake