The IDF pulled out of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, a village inside the Yellow Line in southern Lebanon, on Tuesday morning — the first withdrawal under the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreement, according to N12. The Lebanese army has entered R'ndouriya over the weekend and Froun and Tsarifa over the past two days as part of the phased deployment. Two unresolved issues remain: the supervisory mechanism and criteria for defining areas cleared of Hezbollah weapons.
The Lebanese army officially announced its deployment in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh on Tuesday morning, after the IDF completed its withdrawal from the village — the first pullback under the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreement. The announcement, reported by N12 journalist Nir Dvori, confirms earlier reports and video footage from Monday that showed Lebanese military vehicles entering the area. The village lies inside the Yellow Line, the demarcation line established after the 2006 war.
At 22:30 Jerusalem on Monday, The Zioneer reported that the IDF had withdrawn from Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh and that the Lebanese army had entered three villages: R'ndouriya over the weekend, and Froun and Tsarifa on Monday. Earlier Monday evening, video footage circulated showing Lebanese army vehicles entering Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, and Lebanese sources reported engineering teams scanning for explosive remnants. The confirmation evolved from Lebanese media reports to an official statement by the Lebanese army Tuesday morning.
The withdrawal marks the first operational test of the ceasefire agreement signed in late June. As The Zioneer reported on June 28, the IDF began a pilot withdrawal from designated zones in southern Lebanon. The agreement, under which the Lebanese military is responsible for clearing the area of Hezbollah weapons south of the Litani River, followed months of IDF ground operations including advances beyond the Yellow Line in June.
Two unresolved issues remain, according to Dvori: no agreement has been reached on the supervisory body that will verify the Lebanese army's effectiveness, and the criteria for defining an 'area clear of weapons' have not yet been determined. These points remain under negotiation.
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