A U.S. official told sources that Israel has pulled back from some areas in southern Lebanon, describing the move as a goodwill gesture toward the Lebanese government. The Lebanese army is expected to enter the vacated zones, according to the report by Abu Ali Express.
A U.S. official described Israel’s withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon as a “goodwill gesture” toward the Lebanese government, according to a Thursday report by Abu Ali Express. The official said the Lebanese army will enter the vacated zones. The report comes hours after The Zioneer's thread noted that Israeli officials had dismissed earlier withdrawal reports; as of 10:52 Jerusalem on Monday, those officials denied any pullout and said there was no American pressure for one.
The thread began Thursday at 11:53 Jerusalem with a Reuters report citing unnamed officials that Israel had pulled back from parts of its security zone. Within the same minute, a second thread version added that Lebanese army forces would deploy in the vacated positions. Later that Thursday, an article on The Zioneer placed the pullback in the context of weeks of diplomatic pressure and conflicting statements about the IDF’s long-term presence. Earlier background context notes that on June 22 at 05:18 Jerusalem, reports said the IDF would reduce forces as a “goodwill gesture” before a pilot phase of negotiations — a term echoed in today’s U.S. framing.
As The Zioneer reported over the past week, the Trump administration demanded a partial Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon (June 21, 21:25 Jerusalem), and Israeli officials publicly denied that any such withdrawal was underway (June 22, 10:52 Jerusalem). The broader diplomatic backdrop includes stalled implementation of the November 2024 ceasefire understandings, which mandated parallel deployment of the Lebanese army and IDF withdrawal, and U.S. efforts to tie the pullout to Iran-related negotiations.
The extent and precise locations of the reported withdrawal remain unconfirmed. The IDF has not issued an official statement, and no independent on-the-ground verification has been published.
6 developments
- DevelopingIsraeli officials dismiss reports of IDF withdrawal from points in Lebanon
- DevelopingSenior Israeli security official: IDF will not withdraw from southern Lebanon
- StrongLebanese military source tells Al Jazeera it did not document IDF withdrawal from Lebanese territory
- DevelopingSenior Israeli official denies concessions or withdrawals, says IDF deployed along Yellow Line
Source and signal
- Internal intake