Major gaps remain between Lebanese and Israeli delegations engaged in US talks.
The two sides are far apart over the creation of pilot zones in south Lebanon, Lebanese officials said on Thursday.
"There are significant differences between the Lebanese and Israeli military delegations in the Washington talks over proposals related to the pilot zones, as the official Lebanese position rejects the conditions being put forward by Israel," said a Lebanese official.
Several officials also swiftly rejected US claims that the Israeli military had already begun withdrawing from parts of southern Lebanon.
“No one withdrew,” the senior security official told The National, referring to the swathes of territory up to 10km inside Lebanese territory that the Israeli military has occupied and largely destroyed. They were rebutting earlier US claims of a partial withdrawal that were also rejected by Israel.
“They come and go,” added the source, giving the example of the village of Ain Arab in south Lebanon on Wednesday.
Continuing direct negotiations between Lebanese and Israeli delegations – including senior military figures from each side – over the pilot scheme in Washington have, however, been frosty. This is the fifth round of negotiations between the two countries in the US capital.
Israel and Lebanon have been discussing the US-backed proposal for Israeli forces to transfer some of the Lebanese territory invaded during their war with Hezbollah to Lebanon’s military through a “pilot zone scheme”.
A Lebanese political source said a number of areas had been suggested as starting points for the pilot zones. These included Kfar Tebnit near Nabatieh, which is not occupied although has been subjected to Israeli incursions and forced displacement.
Others are the villages and areas neighbouring Beaufort castle, or the structure itself. This could include part of the Ali Al Taher ridge that Israel was unable to capture despite intense fighting with Hezbollah.
A US State Department official earlier said the pilot zone process was aimed at ensuring the complete and verifiable destruction of Hezbollah’s weapons and infrastructure and the dismantling of non-state armed groups. The Lebanese government has also taken steps to enforce the process, starting in August 2025.
“Israel has already taken a concrete step by pulling back from a part of its buffer zone. This is a significant demonstration of good faith towards Lebanon’s legitimate government,” the State Department official told Reuters.
“The Lebanese Armed Forces should now move in and verifiably clear out terrorist weapons and infrastructure. This model will be repeated across south Lebanon, enabling the safe return of displaced families, reconstruction of the south, and the restoration of full Lebanese sovereignty,” the official added.
A senior Israeli defence official told Reuters that Israel's policy was clear and that the military would not be withdrawing from its “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah and its main patron, Iran, have fiercely rejected any calls for it to hand over its weapons.
"Israel wants the pilot-zone concept to subject Lebanon and its army to field tests and to create friction between the Lebanese Army, the resistance, and residents of the villages," a Hezbollah source said.
"We fear the Israeli objective is to use the Lebanese army to serve Israel's security concerns and pretexts, thereby prolonging the occupation of other areas beyond the 60-day period agreed between Iran and the United States."
Lebanese officials have insisted that direct negotiations with Israel are the only way to secure an end to the conflict, in which more than 4,000 people have been killed since early March. However, four rounds of talks have been held since April, and so far, no durable ceasefire has materialised.
