Lebanese army enters area vacated by IDF as Aoun prepares historic Trump meeting

Lebanese army forces entered the southern town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya on Tuesday after the IDF vacated the area, marking the first stage of a U.S.-brokered pilot arrangement intended to transfer control of parts of southern Lebanon to the Lebanese military. Military jeeps, armored vehicles and an engineering team were filmed entering the town, which lies beyond the Yellow Line in an area previously controlled by the IDF. The deployment came as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun prepared for a historic White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, where he was expected to present a plan for disarming Hezbollah and press for a broader Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Under the framework announced by the U.S. State Department, the Lebanese army is also expected to enter the villages of Froun and Srifa. Those villages lie outside the Yellow Line but remain under Israeli observation and fire control, without a permanent IDF ground presence. The Lebanese army called on residents not to return to Zawtar al-Gharbiya until the security situation stabilized. “Following the announcement regarding army operations in the southern areas, military units began deploying this morning in the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya,” the army said. “The army reiterates its call to citizens not to enter the village until the security situation has stabilized and to follow the instructions of military units.” The Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported that because the selected villages are located deep inside the area, they effectively form an operational sector that could serve as the basis for implementing the agreement elsewhere in southern Lebanon. Israel views the move as an orderly transfer of responsibility coordinated with Washington. IDF forces are reorganizing in defensive positions along the Yellow Line. Israeli officials are now watching whether residents return despite the Lebanese army’s instructions, whether Hezbollah terrorists enter alongside them and whether weapons or other military equipment are moved into the area under the cover of civilian reconstruction. Another test will be the enforcement mechanism. The IDF is expected to report any violations it identifies, but it remains unclear whether Israel would strike independently if it believes an immediate threat is emerging. Aoun’s meeting with Trump will be the first face-to-face White House meeting between a Lebanese and U.S. president in almost 20 years. Lebanese officials told the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Aoun was relying on the meeting to secure U.S. pressure on Israel to withdraw from the remaining areas it controls. They said Aoun would emphasize that Lebanon was continuing its plan to place all weapons under state control, effectively disarming Hezbollah and restoring the government’s exclusive authority over decisions of war and peace. Aoun was also expected to present Trump with a detailed vision for consolidating weapons under state control, including the challenges facing the Lebanese army and the resources it requires. The meeting comes at a decisive moment for Lebanon. The IDF still holds a substantial security zone in the south, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese remain displaced, and Hezbollah has rejected both direct talks with Israel and the government’s efforts to disarm it. Aoun arrived in Washington over the weekend and met Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday. He told Rubio that Israel should begin withdrawing from southern Lebanon in accordance with the agreement signed on June 26. The agreement is intended to lead to Hezbollah’s disarmament, a gradual Israeli withdrawal and the eventual creation of conditions for peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. A senior Lebanese official told Reuters that Aoun believed only Trump possessed enough leverage to pressure Israel to withdraw and help Lebanon restore its sovereignty. The official said Aoun would ask Trump to press Israel to leave southern Lebanon and would present a written proposal outlining how Hezbollah’s extensive arsenal could be decommissioned. Aoun, 62, served as commander of the Lebanese army before becoming president shortly before Trump began his second term. He was wounded twice during his military career and still carries shrapnel injuries. His rise reflected a shift in Lebanon’s internal balance of power following Hezbollah’s weakening during the war, the killing of its former leader Hassan Nasrallah and the removal of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose regime had helped move weapons from Iran and Iraq through Syria into Lebanon. During Aoun’s first year in office, the government sought to establish the state’s monopoly over weapons, a principle that would place all armed groups outside government control beyond the law. The Lebanese army deployed to several areas in southern Lebanon under the 2024 ceasefire and announced in January that Hezbollah had been disarmed in the south, except in a small number of areas under Israeli control. That claim was later undermined when fighting resumed in March and the IDF returned to broad operations in the area. The renewed fighting began after Hezbollah fired at Israel on March 2 in support of Iran. Lebanese authorities said more than 4,300 people were killed in Israeli strikes during the subsequent conflict. Hezbollah did not publish an official count of its own casualties. After the fighting resumed, Aoun called for direct talks with Israel, marking a historic shift in Lebanon’s position. Those contacts eventually led to the agreement now being implemented. Hezbollah and its supporters strongly opposed the negotiations and the agreement, but Aoun has continued to criticize the organization for starting the war, accusing it of allowing Lebanon to be destroyed for Iran’s sake. Despite the direct contacts with Israel, Aoun has so far rejected Trump’s call for him to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.