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First Test of U.S.-Backed Pilot Zones in South Lebanon · GNN Daily Breaking News

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  Speaker 1: The first test of US backed pilot zones in southern
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  Speaker 1: Lebanon has laid bare the difficulties of trying to end
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  Speaker 1: the war between Israel and Hesbolah. The initiative, launched under
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  Speaker 1: a framework deal signed on June twenty sixth, twenty twenty six,
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  Speaker 1: was meant to pave the way for Israeli withdrawal and
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  Speaker 1: Lebanese sovereignty, but on the ground progress has been slow, fragile,
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  Speaker 1: and fraught with obstacles. The concept is simple in theory.
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  Speaker 1: Israel pulls back from selected villages and the Lebanese armed
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  Speaker 1: forces move into establish control. In return, Hesbolah is expected
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  Speaker 1: to disarm, allowing the state to reclaim authority in the south.
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  Speaker 1: The first pilot zones were designated in Zatar Algarbia, Frown
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  Speaker 1: and Sipha. Yet weeks of US broker talks and days
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  Speaker 1: of military operations were needed just to secure Zatar Algarbia,
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  Speaker 1: underscoring how difficult implementation will be. Hesbelah has refused to
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  Speaker 1: participate paid in the deal, rejecting outright the idea of disarmament.
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  Speaker 1: That refusal leaves Lebanese forces in a precarious position tasked
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  Speaker 1: with asserting sovereignty. But unable to confront the country's most
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  Speaker 1: powerful militia. Meanwhile, Israel has continued limited operations, with Lebanese
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  Speaker 1: officials accusing Israeli forces of shelling and bulldozing villages, preventing
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  Speaker 1: full takeover of the pilot zones. For residents, the reality
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  Speaker 1: is grim. Civilians returning to their homes find rubble and destruction,
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  Speaker 1: complicating resettlement and raising questions about whether the framework can
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  Speaker 1: deliver stability. The United States views the pilot zones as
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  Speaker 1: a test case for broader withdrawal, hoping Lebanon can demonstrate
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  Speaker 1: control and gradually expand sovereignty. Israel, however, insists on maintaining
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  Speaker 1: a ten kilometer security buffer until Husbillaw is disarmed. That
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  Speaker 1: divergence in vision highlights the fragility of the Ultimately, the
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  Speaker 1: pilot zones reveal the core dilemma. Without Hesbala's cooperation, Lebanon
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  Speaker 1: cannot fully assert control, and without Israeli trust, withdrawal will
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  Speaker 1: remain partial and contested. The framework may have created a
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  Speaker 1: path forward, but the first steps showed just how long
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  Speaker 1: and difficult the road will be.