New Lebanon-Israel talks set for 20 Oct as Golani Brigade leaves

Talks between Lebanon and Israel are expected to resume in late October, Lebanese media have reported, as the Israeli military announced the end of a seven-month deployment by its Golani Brigade in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon has been informed that US-mediated negotiations with Israel will take place on 20 October in Tampa, Florida, a week before Israel’s general elections, according to Lebanese broadcaster MTV.

The direct talks, which began in April, have stalled for months, with little progress on the implementation of a trilateral agreement amid continued Israeli attacks.

The US-sponsored framework signed between Lebanon and Israel in late June calls for the gradual Israeli withdrawal from designated pilot zones, followed by the redeployment of the Lebanese army in those areas. Under the agreement, the Lebanese military is to ensure that the zones have been cleared of Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure.

The first three pilot zones were announced in July, but no further areas have been designated.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have said the diplomatic track is the only viable option for Beirut to try to end the conflict, and have called on Washington to exert greater pressure on Israel.

US officials reportedly told Salam in New York this week that Israel would continue to occupy parts of southern Lebanon and expand its operations if the Lebanese government failed to bring Hezbollah’s weapons under state control.

Israel currently occupies large parts of southern Lebanon and has expanded its so-called security zone in recent months, with dozens of towns and villages razed or heavily damaged.

Israel says it will not withdraw from Lebanon until Hezbollah is fully disarmed, while the Iran-backed group has rejected disarmament as long as Israeli forces remain in Lebanese territory.

Golani Brigade ends mission

Separately on Wednesday, the Israeli military said forces from one of its most elite infantry brigades had withdrawn from southern Lebanon after seven months of operational activity.

Israeli army spokesperson Ella Waweya posted footage on X showing troops from the Golani Brigade’s combat team leaving the area.

She said the forces, operating under the army’s 36th Division, had been deployed in the security zone in southern Lebanon to remove what she called threats to northern Israel.

In recent months, the troops operated in the Shqif Heights area around Beaufort Castle and had recently completed a "focused military operation" to destroy infrastructure in the vicinity of the Litani River, Waweya said.

She added that Israeli forces had destroyed more than 900 structures allegedly used by Hezbollah and found weapons depots containing RPG rounds, explosive devices, booby-trapped drones and Kalashnikov rifles.

Earlier this month, Israeli forces demolished an underground Hezbollah complex beneath the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge, raising fears that Israel could storm the nearby city of Nabatiyeh next as it eyes other strategic heights in the south.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed close to 9,000 people since the conflict with Hezbollah began in October 2023, while more than 30,000 others have been wounded.