Attention is now focused on the arrangements of the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, as the Lebanese presidency and army command examine preparations related to the withdrawal from pilot zones in southern Lebanon, ahead of an expected visit by an American military delegation to Beirut within days, and before the sixth round of US-sponsored Lebanese-Israeli negotiations, scheduled for 14 and 15 July in Rome.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with Army Commander Rudolf Haikal to discuss ongoing preparations for implementing the provisions of the "framework agreement" in the designated pilot zones in the south of the country, even as Israeli attacks on a number of southern villages and towns continued.
This was stated in a Lebanese presidency communiqué, which said Aoun discussed with Haikal "the security situation in the country in general, and in the south in particular, in light of the continued Israeli attacks on a number of southern villages and towns."
The presidency noted that the two sides discussed "the ongoing preparations for implementing the framework agreement's provisions in the designated pilot zones, in which the Lebanese Army is expected to deploy simultaneously with the Israeli withdrawal from them."
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told reporters that he is placing great hope in his visit to Washington and his meeting with President Donald Trump, given the clear insistence of the American administration on supporting the process of ending the war between Lebanon and Israel.
He noted that the goals set by Hezbollah are the same goals Lebanon has put forward in the Washington-sponsored negotiations with Israel: withdrawal from the south, the return of prisoners, the retrieval of bodies, and reconstruction.
In this context, a US official involved in the Lebanese-Israeli talks spoke of efforts moving into the implementation phase of the "framework agreement," noting that work is under way to prepare maps and identify pilot zones for the Israeli withdrawal in southern Lebanon, and that the first pilot zone will be identified within the coming days.
For his part, Lebanese Foreign and Expatriates Minister Youssef Raji affirmed that decisions on war, peace, and foreign relations are the exclusive prerogative of the Lebanese state, stressing that Lebanon will not accept, under any circumstances, that its territory be used to threaten the security of any friendly state.
Raji's remarks came during a meeting organised by the Cypriot Foreign Ministry for its ambassadors, where he stressed that no individual or armed group has the right to monopolise state decision-making or determine questions of war and peace or Lebanon's foreign relations, as national security and foreign policy decisions are made in Beirut alone, free from any external agendas or calculations.
On the ground, the Israeli army continued systematic demolition and destruction operations in villages in southern Lebanon, in addition to targeting vehicles on roads, most recently a car in the town of Kafr Rumman in the Nabatieh district.
The National News Agency reported that two people were wounded after an Israeli drone struck a truck while it was unloading waste on the outskirts of the towns of Shawkin and Kafr Dajjal in the Nabatieh district.
In the Marjayoun district, Israeli forces burned a number of homes in the town of Qantara, while continuing demolition operations inside the town of Khiam. In the Tyre district, an Israeli drone dropped a sonic bomb in the vicinity of the town of Mansouri.
In response, the Israeli army confirmed it would continue its operations to eliminate security threats, stressing that it would not allow Hezbollah to harm Israel.