Lebanese army deploys in southern Lebanon town after Israeli troop withdrawal

Lebanese army soldiers began entering the southern town of Dibbine on Thursday following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

NNA reported that Lebanese army units moved into the town in the Marjayoun district shortly after Israeli forces pulled out.

The deployment comes after days of military escalation, artillery shelling, and demolition operations that affected the town and its surroundings, the agency said.

The move came a day after Lebanon and Israel agreed to renew their fragile ceasefire and establish “pilot zones,” placing the Lebanese army in exclusive territorial control, with all non-state actors excluded.

The agreement was announced in a joint statement released following a fourth round of US-mediated talks held at the State Department on Wednesday.

The US-sponsored talks followed weeks of near-daily Israeli strikes on Lebanon that have killed more than 3,500 people since March 2, despite a ceasefire that took effect on April 17 and was later extended until early July.