Thursday, July 23, 2026

Beirut - Agencies:

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam affirmed from the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, a day after the Lebanese army deployed there, that Beirut will continue to "mobilize" all efforts to ensure a complete Israeli withdrawal from the south of the country, in accordance with the framework agreement signed by both sides.

"We will continue to mobilize all our political and diplomatic efforts to ensure the full withdrawal from all Lebanese territory," Salam said after planting the Lebanese flag in the town square, which he reached in the morning accompanied by the army.

These remarks came a day after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, during his meeting with his American counterpart Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, stressed "the urgent need for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory," affirming that this "constitutes a fundamental step to consolidate stability and enable the Lebanese state to extend its full sovereignty with its own forces."

It is noted that the Lebanese army began deploying on Tuesday in the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, one of the "pilot areas," under the framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel with American sponsorship last month.

This comes as the Lebanese army denounced the Israeli forces opening fire near its personnel during their deployment, while the Israeli army said it fired "warning shots in the air" after Lebanese soldiers entered an area that was not "part of the pilot area."

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