Aoun in Washington to discuss consolidating the truce, and the Lebanese army begins deployment in 'experimental areas' in the south

Lebanese President General Joseph Aoun departed the capital Beirut on Saturday morning, heading to Washington for an official visit of great strategic importance. Aoun is scheduled to meet with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, at the White House on July 21, to discuss complex security and political issues related to the future of stability on the Lebanese-Israeli border.

This visit comes after an intensive round of negotiations recently concluded in the Italian capital, Rome, where the Lebanese presidency seeks through these diplomatic moves to consolidate the fragile ceasefire. The talks also aim to ensure the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the territories they seized during recent military operations, and to fully extend the authority of the Lebanese state.

On the ground, the effects of the principles agreement signed between the two parties have begun to enter into actual implementation, as media sources reported the deployment of Lebanese Army units in the 'First Experimental Zone'. This deployment included the towns of Frun and Gandourieh in the Bint Jbeil district, areas where the occupation army had no direct military presence before this step.

These villages are considered of great strategic importance due to their location north of the 'Yellow Line' and near Wadi al-Salouqi and the Litani River, areas that have historically witnessed violent confrontations. The deployment of the Lebanese Army there represents a first step within an organized mechanism aimed at repositioning international and local forces according to specific timelines agreed upon in advance.

The framework agreement concluded on June 26 stipulates that the Lebanese Army will gradually assume full security responsibility in these newly established areas. These 'experimental areas' serve as a test of the Lebanese forces' ability to maintain security and prevent any breaches that could lead to the collapse of the truce, in preparation for taking over additional areas in later stages.

Behind the scenes of the negotiations held in Rome under American patronage, differences emerged regarding the party that would oversee security operations and disarmament. A proposal was put forward to deploy Italian soldiers to directly supervise the removal of armed manifestations and Hezbollah elements from the border area, as a compromise that satisfies international and local parties.

In contrast, a proposal to grant the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) broader supervisory powers was met with outright rejection from both the Israeli and American sides. Israeli representatives stressed during the talks the necessity of strict security guarantees before withdrawing from the positions currently occupied by the Israeli army within the so-called 'buffer zone'.

For its part, the Lebanese side insisted during the technical meetings that security responsibility and inspection operations be exclusively in the hands of the Lebanese Army alone. Lebanon believes that strengthening the role of the military institution is the only way to impose national sovereignty and prevent external interference in the security affairs of the southern regions.

Despite the negotiation atmosphere, field tension remains dominant, as the Lebanese Army announced the martyrdom of one of its servicemen and the injury of an officer and two other soldiers. The incident occurred due to the explosion of a suspicious object targeting a military vehicle in the town of Mansouri, amid continued repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.

In a related context, security sources stated that the Israeli occupation army continued its aggressions by launching airstrikes and artillery shelling that targeted the towns of Taybeh, Arnoun, and Nabatieh al-Fawqa. These operations resulted in casualties among civilians, while the Israeli side admitted that one of its officers was moderately wounded during a security activity in southern Lebanon.

Reports from the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation indicate that the imminent Israeli withdrawal may be limited in the current stage to the areas of Zawtar East and West. These cautious steps come at a time when Washington is warning its citizens against traveling to the region due to the possibility of unexpected military escalation that could undermine truce efforts.

The toll of the aggression since March 2026 reflects the scale of the humanitarian tragedy in Lebanon, with the number of martyrs reaching 4,324 people, in addition to more than 12,000 injured. Military operations have also caused the displacement of more than one million Lebanese from their villages and cities, placing immense pressure on the Lebanese government regarding shelter and reconstruction.

A technical military meeting was supposed to be held last Friday to complete the executive plans for the experimental areas, but it was postponed for logistical and security reasons. The Aoun-Trump summit in Washington is expected to provide new momentum to overcome the technical obstacles hindering the full implementation of the framework agreement.

Lebanon's bet remains on the ability of the international community, specifically the American administration, to pressure for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the 'buffer zone'. This strip extends 10 kilometers deep into Lebanese territory, where Tel Aviv insists on its retention as a protection zone for its residential communities in the north, which Lebanon rejects outright.

Aoun will hold meetings and consultations with a number of American officials to discuss ways to consolidate the ceasefire and Israel's withdrawal from the Lebanese territories it occupies.