IDF Reestablishes South Lebanon Security Zone During Trump’s 10-Day Ceasefire Along the “Yellow Line”

Israel’s military has reestablished a south Lebanon security zone during a fragile ceasefire, while Israeli forces continue operations inside a boundary Israel calls the “Yellow Line.”

“A ceasefire offered hope after weeks of intensified Israeli strikes on Lebanon, but renewed Israeli attacks and the creation of a military boundary similar to the “Yellow Line” in Gaza are casting doubt on the agreement”

Al Jazeera

In a report from the area, ynet said that “For the first time since the end of Operation Northern Arrows in November 2024, and just after the ceasefire took effect, the IDF allowed Israeli journalists into the area,” where “five divisions operated to establish a new security zone.”

Al Jazeera

The Times of Israel described the move as the Israeli military “reestablishing a security zone that it left some 26 years ago,” with the visit taking place “during a fragile 10-day ceasefire, announced by US President Donald Trump, that began at midnight between Thursday and Friday.”

Al Jazeera framed the dispute as whether Israel’s “Yellow Line” “violate[s] the Lebanon ceasefire,” saying the 10-day ceasefire started on “Thursday night after 46 days of Israeli bombardment and a ground invasion in southern Lebanon.”

Al Jazeera said the “Yellow Line” is “a military zone stretching roughly 10km (6 miles) north of the border inside southern Lebanon,” and quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israeli forces “are remaining in Lebanon in a reinforced security buffer zone.”

Netanyahu added, “This is a security strip ten kilometres deep, which is much stronger, more intense, more continuous and more solid than what we had previously. That is where we are and we are not leaving.”

In parallel, the Israeli military’s own framing in The Times of Israel emphasized that it “avoids calling it a ‘security zone’” and instead dubs it a “forward defense area.”

Inside the newly established area, Israeli commanders described rules of engagement that allow immediate fire against perceived threats, even as the ceasefire is in effect.

ynet quoted Col. Eric Moyal, commander of the Nahal Brigade, saying, “Right now, any threat I identify that endangers the forces, we open fire on it,” and adding, “Even if we have to apologize later.”

Al-Jazeera Net

Moyal told reporters that the directive is “clear: if there is a threat, it is removed,” and he said the rules are “unambiguous,” with “The instructions are very clear. Any threatening figure here is, from our perspective, a terrorist.”

The Times of Israel similarly quoted Col. Arik Moyal, saying, “Tactically, as a commander, this is a security area,” and that “We were told to create a security area where direct anti-tank fire cannot be carried out.”

The Times of Israel also reported that Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF would “raze all of the Lebanese border villages — with the exception of several Christian communities,” while military commanders insisted the army was “only destroying Hezbollah infrastructure.”

Al Jazeera described the ceasefire language as a source of disagreement, noting that the text says Israel and Lebanon “will implement a cessation of hostilities,” while later stating that Israel “shall preserve its right to take all necessary measures in self-defence, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.”

Al Jazeera’s reporting from Beirut included a quote from Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett saying, “And Israel defines that fairly broadly, so not just imminent and ongoing threats, but even planned ones,” and she added that Israel continued “demolitions” and “artillery fire” within the “Yellow Line.”

i24NEWS said the IDF warned that “self-defense operations are not restricted by the ceasefire” as troops targeted Hezbollah operatives within the “newly established ‘Yellow Line’.”

Multiple outlets described demolition and land-clearing operations continuing during the ceasefire, alongside claims that the policy targets Hezbollah infrastructure.

Haaretz reported that “The IDF is continuing the systematic destruction of villages in southern Lebanon during a cease-fire,” and said military commanders told Haaretz that “civilian homes, public buildings and schools are being demolished as part of a broader policy to ‘clear the area.’”

Monte Carlo International said the Israeli army “continued demolitions and explosions of the remaining buildings” in towns including Sham, al-Beiyada, al-Naqoura, Al-Taiba, Khiyam Deir Suryan and Mais al-Jabal, and it said that “In the central sector, its vehicles and tanks roamed the city of Bent Jbeil.”

Monte Carlo International added that the army “fired its artillery toward Kunin and the Nabatieh area, and burned houses in al-Qantara and swept the town of Deir Suryan,” while its warplanes “flew over the eastern and central sectors” and patrols operated over Zahrani, Saida (Sidon) and Tyre.

In parallel, Al Jazeera said Israeli officials intend to keep the “Yellow Line” under military control and that “residents will not be allowed to return to 55 Lebanese towns and villages within that area.”

i24NEWS said the “Yellow Line” designates “55 Lebanese villages strictly off-limits to returning residents,” and it described the IDF as remaining active to “finalize the clearing of tunnels and launch sites.”

The Times of Israel described the boundaries as similar to the security zone Israel held between 1985 and 2000 and said the map released by the IDF on Sunday showed the security zone crossed the Litani River and included the Beaufort Ridge.

It also reported that the IDF would raze border villages “with the exception of several Christian communities,” while commanders said the army was destroying Hezbollah infrastructure embedded within civilian homes.

In the same period, the Al Jazeera report said Israeli forces blew up homes in Haneen and fired artillery toward Beit Lif, al-Qantara and Toul, while reporting bulldozers continuing demolition and land-clearing operations in several areas of southern Lebanon.

Even with the ceasefire in place, Israeli forces reported deaths and injuries in southern Lebanon, and the reporting tied some incidents to devices or threats associated with Hezbollah.

The Jerusalem-based outlet Al Quds Al Arabi said the Israeli army announced on Sunday the death of one soldier during clashes in southern Lebanon, naming “Lidor Burat, 31, from Ashdod,” and stating he was a soldier in “Battalion 7106, Brigade 769.”

Anadolu Ajansi

It added that “another soldier was seriously injured in the same incident, along with four who sustained moderate injuries and four with minor injuries,” and it said “the total number of Israeli soldiers killed in the six-week war between Israel and Hezbollah has risen to 15.”

Al Jazeera’s report said Israel’s army announced “another soldier was killed in fighting in southern Lebanon,” making “the total number of soldiers killed in Lebanon to 15,” and it said the incident occurred when “a military vehicle drove over a landmine or an explosive device believed to be affiliated with Hezbollah, causing it to detonate.”

Al Jazeera said the army opened an investigation “focusing on determining the timing of the device's placement in that area.”

CNN Arabic reported that the Israeli army announced “the death of two Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon over the past two days,” raising the death toll “to at least 15 soldiers,” and it named “First Sergeant (Reserve) Lidor Borat, 31,” and “First Sergeant (Reserve) Barak Kalfon.”

CNN Arabic said “12 other soldiers were wounded in these two deadly incidents,” and it noted the timing “just hours after French President Emmanuel Macron stated that a French soldier with the United Nations peacekeeping force was killed in Lebanon on Saturday.”

BBC reporting described another Israeli incident, saying “a soldier was killed and nine others were wounded in clashes in southern Lebanon,” and it said Hezbollah threatened to respond to any “violations.”

In the same reporting stream, Al Jazeera said the Israeli army acknowledged “several attacks on Lebanese soil under the pretext of thwarting threats to its forces,” and it cited Israeli statements that it destroyed “two Hezbollah cells” through airstrikes.

The ceasefire’s durability is contested by both sides, with Hezbollah rejecting the arrangement and Israeli forces continuing to describe threats and intelligence-gathering.

“The Israeli army publishes a map of what it calls the Frontline Defense Line area, where its forces operate in southern Lebanon”

Anadolu Ajansi

Al Jazeera reported that Hezbollah condemned the ceasefire agreement as “an insult to our country” and “a slippery slope with no end in sight,” and it quoted Hezbollah saying, “A ceasefire means a complete” before the excerpt ends.

Anadolu Ajansi

In the same Al Jazeera report, the outlet said Israel acknowledged attacks and justified them under the ceasefire clause that “Israel reserves the right to take all necessary measures to defend itself at any time against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks,” while also saying it targeted “a terrorist cell operating near its forces in the forward defense line area.”

BBC reporting said Hezbollah “threatens to respond to any 'violations'” and described the Israeli army’s deadly incidents after the truce took effect.

ynet said the IDF is “now adjusting to the ceasefire, even as Hezbollah continues intelligence-gathering efforts and attempts to regroup for a potential next round,” and it quoted Moyal saying, “We need to make sure the troops stay sharp,” adding, “There is a ceasefire, but the threat is still here.”

ynet also said the “most immediate threat now comes from old explosive devices,” and it quoted Moyal: “We move carefully, with engineering tools and patience.”

The Times of Israel described the operational challenge of the transition, saying the IDF would not tolerate “any terror infrastructure” and that “there must not be any terror infrastructure here,” while also emphasizing that the IDF is “only destroying Hezbollah infrastructure.”

UNIFIL appears in the ynet report, which said, “As UNIFIL forces patrol nearby,” questions remain about the future of the security zone.

ynet also described a historical link, saying Moyal stated that “from that very location, senior Hezbollah figure Imad Mughniyeh directed the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser.”

Looking ahead, ynet said, “We are not going anywhere anytime soon,” and it added, “When we are told to leave, we will leave, but the reality here must be one where there is no population supporting terrorism, and the military infrastructure in the villages is completely dismantled.”