Israel invaded southern Lebanon in March, after Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group, resumed attacks on Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Since then, the Israeli army has occupied a strip of land approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep, with the aim of establishing what it calls a “security zone” to protect the population of northern Israel from the threat of missile attacks launched by Hezbollah.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, more than 4,300 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since March 2, and the United Nations says more than 350,000 people remain displaced since the start of the Israeli occupation.
The ceasefire is effectively in effect, but Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon continue on a daily basis. Israel insists this is allowed under the latest ceasefire agreement.
Currently, the Lebanese government is unable to exercise its duties in the part of the country occupied by Israel. Under a US-led framework agreement signed between Israel and Lebanon in June, Israel was supposed to hand over small pockets of territory it occupies to the Lebanese army, in what are known as “trial zones.” However, indicators do not suggest that the plan will go ahead as planned.
The operation began in three Shiite-majority villages, but none of them were under full occupation by Israeli forces in the first place, leading many to question whether Israel intended to withdraw at all.
CNN exclusively joined the Lebanese Army on a patrol mission that included one of these areas, Zawtar al-Gharbiyya.
The Lebanese Forces deployed there are responsible for preventing the entry of non-state armed actors - such as Hezbollah -, confiscating any weapons or war remnants, and re-establishing state authority. The priority - according to Colonel Raja Amer, Assistant Commander of the South Litani Sector - is to make the area safe for the return of displaced residents.
There is no Israeli military presence in the western town of Zawtar, but just a few hundred meters away, Israeli tanks and bulldozers can be seen, while building demolitions continue at an accelerated pace. Soldiers and residents reported to CNN that drones are constantly flying in the air, and that they hear the sounds of artillery shelling on a daily basis.
For those on the ground, the scene does not appear to be a ceasefire, nor does it appear that the “trial areas” are paving the way for Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Israeli officials say Lebanese army is not moving fast enough to disarm Hezbollah, by conducting more stringent searches of citizens' homes; However, Lebanese law prohibits the army from entering private property without a judicial order or legal authorization, which it does not currently have.
Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon faltered, amid the absence of any indication of Israel’s intention to withdraw its forces from the territories it occupies. The Israeli Defense Minister stated that the army would not withdraw from Lebanon even if the United States demanded it.
With Israeli elections approaching in October, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will likely seek a clear victory for his base on this front. In this context, Amer affirmed the Lebanese Army’s readiness to assume responsibility for additional experimental areas if the political negotiations resulted in progress, but he warned that these efforts would not be crowned with success if the circumstances surrounding them were similar to those that prevailed in the first attempt.
