IDF officers and Lebanese Army officers have opened a U.S.-mediated communication channel in recent days to establish clear criteria for what qualifies as a “Hezbollah-free zone” ahead of a planned pilot Israeli withdrawal from two villages in southern Lebanon, according to a report on Kan News.

A source familiar with the details told Kan that Lebanese officials understand Israel’s need for clear benchmarks, particularly in light of past experience and longstanding ambiguity over what exactly constitutes an area free of Hezbollah presence. At this stage, Lebanon is not pressing Israel to begin the withdrawal immediately, even though the process is expected to begin in the coming weeks.

In the past, Israel passed intelligence to the Lebanese Army through the mechanism regarding Hezbollah activity, but that information was leaked to the terror group. This time, as part of the new discussions, Israel provided Lebanon with a list of Lebanese officers — some of them relatively senior — who were previously suspected of passing information to Hezbollah, along with a demand that they not be included in the new mechanism.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu held a small meeting Sunday night with senior defense officials focused on Lebanon. So far, Israel has not withdrawn from the two pilot areas, and an Israeli source told Kan that Jerusalem is “waiting for confirmation from the Lebanese Army and from U.S. Central Command that the Lebanese forces are ready to enter and take control of the areas chosen for the pilot.”

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