Israel and Lebanon hold 'fruitful' Rome talks on pilot-zone withdrawal, Hezbollah stays out

A new round under Italian auspices

Negotiators from Israel and Lebanon opened a fresh round of talks in Rome on Tuesday, meeting on the grounds of the US embassy under American supervision. The two-day session follows a framework agreement reached in Washington on 26 June, after five earlier rounds, and is intended to turn that blueprint into concrete steps. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed that he had spoken with both delegations, who agreed to Rome as the venue. "The decision to bring the negotiations to Italy is proof that our country has an important role in building peace," Tajani said. The Italian minister also stressed Italy's contribution through UNIFIL and the training of Lebanese Armed Forces personnel.

Pilot zones take centre stage

A US State Department spokesperson described Tuesday's exchanges as "fruitful" and conducted "in a positive atmosphere," adding that "both sides are eager to move forward." Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel was ready to "move forward" with the implementation of two pilot zones in southern Lebanon. "I hope and have high hopes that this series of discussions in Rome will contribute to that," he stated from Jerusalem. Beirut's stance was outlined by the Lebanese presidency before the meeting: the delegation was instructed to demand "the immediate start of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from two pilot zones before any further discussion." A Lebanese diplomatic source told reporters that the Lebanese army is ready to gradually take control of localities vacated by the Israeli military. Israel, in return, demands that Hezbollah remain absent from the evacuated sectors.

The Hezbollah shadow

Hezbollah, backed by Iran, rejects the 26 June framework agreement and refuses to disarm. The Shiite movement also insists on a complete Israeli pullout before any reciprocal steps. Karim Bitar, an academic at Sciences Po Paris, assessed that "the chances of a breakthrough in Rome are quite limited." He added, however, that Iran "will think twice before asking Hezbollah to launch new strikes against Israel," because Tehran wants to preserve the movement as a long-term deterrent instrument. The framework deal is built around the disarmament of armed groups, an implicit reference to Hezbollah, alongside the deployment of Lebanese troops to the south and a progressive Israeli withdrawal.

Fighting continues despite ceasefire

Although a fragile ceasefire has been in place since mid-April, Israeli military operations have not stopped. The Lebanese Health Ministry raised the death toll from Israeli airstrikes since 2 March to 4,324 on Tuesday. Israel's military is occupying a self-declared buffer zone roughly 10 km deep along the entire length of the border, an area of about 620 square kilometres, equivalent to some 6% of Lebanon's territory. Both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government call the security zone an illegal occupation under international law. Lebanese state media also report ongoing limited strikes and demolitions in the south.

What happens next

The Rome talks are scheduled to resume on Wednesday. A US military delegation had already begun discussions in Beirut on Saturday on the modalities of the Israeli withdrawal from one of the pilot zones. The US State Department indicated that both delegations remain keen to continue the dialogue. Moving the venue to Rome, one Lebanese official noted, makes it easier for each side to consult its government for instructions during the negotiations.