Israel deliberately obstructing troop deployment in south, Lebanese army chief warns

Israeli attacks are preventing the Lebanese army from completing its deployment across southern Lebanon, the country's army commander said on Thursday, as Beirut prepares to press for an end to Israeli military operations during a new round of US-mediated talks with Israel next week.

Marking the 81st anniversary of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Rodolphe Haykal said the military remained ready to deploy "to all areas from which Israeli occupation forces withdraw" but warned that Israel was deliberately undermining the army's mission through continued attacks and ceasefire violations.

"The occupation persists in its attacks and repeated violations to obstruct the army's efforts," Haykal said in an address to soldiers, adding that the military remained committed to ensuring "the safe return of our people to their villages and towns."

His remarks come as the Lebanese army continues deploying to southern border communities under a US-brokered security framework reached with Israel, commonly referred to as the "pilot zones" agreement. The arrangement envisages phased Israeli withdrawals from selected areas, followed by the deployment of Lebanese troops as part of broader efforts to restore state authority in the south.

On 21 July, Lebanese forces entered Zawtar al-Gharbiya, one of three towns reportedly vacated by Israeli troops during the first phase of the agreement, despite residents telling The New Arab that Israeli forces had never maintained a presence inside those towns.

Haykal reiterated that the army stood ready to deploy to every area still under Israeli occupation once Israeli forces withdrew, while stressing that the military would continue implementing the government's plan to place all weapons under the authority of the Lebanese state.

He also warned that the scale of the army's responsibilities required greater international backing.

"The size of the missions entrusted to the army requires strengthening the institution's capabilities," he said, adding that the military was still waiting for international partners to provide promised support.

Haykal's comments come days before Lebanese and Israeli officials are expected to meet indirectly in Rome on 4 August in a second round of US-mediated negotiations over the implementation of the security arrangements agreed after months of conflict.

According to information obtained by The New Arab, the Lebanese army has repeatedly urged the government to make an end to Israeli violations the foremost demand during the Rome talks, arguing that continued Israeli military operations have become the principal obstacle to implementing the agreement.

Military sources told The New Arab that Lebanon intends to press for a complete halt to Israeli attacks while also seeking to expand the pilot-zone arrangement to additional southern towns.

"But so far, the military situation on the ground does not point in that direction," the sources said. "Israel continues its daily attacks on villages in southern Lebanon, obstructing the Lebanese army's operations and affecting the return of residents."

Israeli military operations continued on Thursday, when an Israeli drone struck the outskirts of the southern town of Mansouri in the morning, while Israeli forces carried out a controlled demolition before dawn in the town of Hadatha.

The continued attacks have fuelled growing frustration in Beirut, where officials argue that Israel's actions are preventing the Lebanese army from assuming security responsibilities in the south even as it continues to meet its commitments under the US-sponsored framework.

In a separate statement marking Army Day, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri praised the military as Lebanon's foremost national institution while criticising what he described as Israel's attempt to impose so-called "pilot zones" through military force.

"Eighty-one years on, the Lebanese army remains the institution that embodies unity, identity, belonging, sacrifice and loyalty in defence of one united Lebanon," Berri said.

He added that Lebanon aspired to "one unified homeland, not the model zones whose borders are drawn by the Israeli occupier through fire, killing and destruction."

Describing the army as "the army of Lebanon and all Lebanese," Berri said it remained the country's best hope for protecting sovereignty, liberating occupied land, preserving civil peace and completing Lebanon's recovery after the war.