Both Israel and Lebanon rejected a Reuters-sourced report citing an anonymous US State Department official who claimed Israel had already pulled back from part of its buffer zone as a goodwill gesture. Israeli leaders maintain the IDF will not leave southern Lebanon until Hezbollah no longer threatens northern Israel.
This evening (Thu 16:20 Jerusalem), both Jerusalem and Beirut officially denied a Reuters-sourced claim, attributed to an anonymous U.S. State Department official, that Israel had already pulled back from part of its buffer zone in southern Lebanon as a goodwill gesture. Israeli and Lebanese officials each told Reuters they rejected the report; no on-record claim of a withdrawal currently stands.
The denial caps a day of rapidly shifting reports The Zioneer has tracked since Thu 11:53 Jerusalem, when multiple versions of the wire story published nearly simultaneously: a U.S. official told Reuters Israel was withdrawing from parts of the security zone, and the Lebanese army would deploy in its place. By Thu 12:08 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that U.S. State Department claims of a goodwill pullback were being contradicted by IDF and Lebanese military sources. A separate report at Thu 12:01 Jerusalem also cited a senior Israeli official describing the move as a goodwill gesture — but that characterization has now been overtaken by the coordinated Israeli-Lebanese denial. Later, at Thu 14:51 Jerusalem, a Lebanese military source told Al Jazeera it had not documented any IDF withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Background context: The Zioneer reported on Sun Jun 21, 13:11 Jerusalem that a senior Israeli security official told journalist Mendy Etzraf the IDF would not withdraw from southern Lebanon. On Sun Jun 21, 23:15 Jerusalem, a senior Israeli official said there were no concessions or withdrawals, and that the IDF was deployed along the Yellow Line in force-protection positions. On Mon Jun 22, 10:52 Jerusalem, Israeli officials dismissed reports of a pullback and said there was no American pressure for one.
The core Israeli position remains unchanged: leaders insist the IDF will not leave southern Lebanon until Hezbollah no longer threatens northern Israel, and they have repeatedly expressed doubt in the Lebanese military's ability to achieve that goal. The U.S. official's quote — claiming a goodwill gesture — has been directly refuted on the record by both governments; no further official statement from Washington has been issued this evening.
7 developments
- StrongEnergy Minister Eli Cohen: Israel must reject any US dictate to withdraw from Lebanon
- DevelopingSenior Israeli security official: IDF will not withdraw from southern Lebanon
- DevelopingIsraeli officials dismiss reports of IDF withdrawal from points in Lebanon
- DevelopingNetanyahu: Israeli forces are not leaving Lebanon
Source and signal
- Internal intake