The initial "pilot zone" in Lebanon designed to transfer territory currently held by Israeli forces back to Lebanese authority will officially begin "in a matter of days," a US official announced Thursday, according to CNN.

The rollout marks the operational phase of a US-brokered effort to restore Lebanese state control following weeks of intense diplomacy.

“Further pilot zones are being mapped out and planned," the official said. “CENTCOM is coordinating with both countries to move forward."

To support the transfer of authority, Washington intends to mobilize broader diplomatic and financial assistance to help Beirut manage the transition across southern Lebanon.

The official said the US “will soon begin outreach to international partners to help the Lebanese Government effectively restore sovereignty in these zones and across their country more broadly."

The initiative builds upon a 14-point framework negotiated during US-mediated discussions between Israeli and Lebanese officials in Washington in late June. Upcoming diplomatic engagements will focus on technical execution rather than high-level political bargaining.

Planned talks in Rome next week will be “a closed discussion that will enable the governments to hand off to technical teams, which will work on all issues outlined in the Framework," the official said.

It remains to be seen whether the framework agreement will be implemented, as significant friction remains between Beirut and Jerusalem over the scope and timing of any military pullout.

According to a diplomatic source familiar with the negotiations, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has conditioned his country’s ongoing participation in bilateral talks on Israel commencing a military withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

The agreement has also been criticized by the Hezbollah terrorist organization which has refused to disarm, as stipulated in the agreement, and declared that "Without Hezbollah, nothing will pass."

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem strongly condemned the framework agreement, describing it as a "humiliating and disgraceful" deal that, he claimed, amounts to a surrender of Lebanon's sovereignty.

Aoun recently defended the framework agreement, asserting that it is the sole pragmatic path to avoid armed combat.