• Israel says it is ready to move forward with the implementation of two pilot zones in Lebanon during talks in Italy.
• Lebanon’s deputy prime minister has told Al Jazeera that the framework agreement with Israel contains no reference to a withdrawal timeline.

Lebanon-Israel direct talks – Ambassadors pushing to establish ‘pilot zones

Lebanon and Israel have resumed direct talks in Rome in the sixth round of US-mediated negotiations, focused on an Israeli withdrawal.

Ambassadors are debating “pilot zones”, which Israeli forces would leave and the Lebanese army would deploy to, with Zawtar el-Gharbiyeh and Zawtar el-Charqiyeh under consideration.

Israeli forces demolish homes, fire on residents in south Lebanon

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reports that Israeli forces carried out large-scale demolition operations at dawn, destroying several homes and other structures with explosives in the valleys of Beit Yahoun in the Bint Jbeil district in the south.

According to the NNA report, Israeli forces also bulldozed the roads leading from Bint Jbeil to the border town of Maroun al-Ras, and opened fire on residents attempting to inspect orchards near the towns of Majdal Zoun and al-Mansouri.

NNA did not mention whether any casualties resulted from the attacks.

Amnesty urges war crimes probe into deadly Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon

Amnesty International is calling for at least three Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon to be investigated as war crimes.

The attacks in early March destroyed civilian homes and wiped out entire families, killing 24 people, including 12 children.

Israel has not provided information on what it was targeting, and Amnesty has not found evidence of military objectives at the time.

Israeli army says two southern Lebanese towns encircled

Israel says its forces have encircled the southern Lebanese towns of Bint Jbeil and Aitaroun.

Bint Jbeil is regarded by many Lebanese as a symbol of resistance.

In May 2000, it was the site of a famous speech by Hezbollah’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah, who described Israel as “weaker than a spider’s web” after its withdrawal from southern Lebanon following 22 years of occupation.

More than 1,500 buildings in Bint Jbeil has been systematically destroyed by Israelis.

Israel and Lebanon agree to enforce two pilot zones following US-brokered talks

Hezbollah has made its position clear from the outset that it opposes any direct talks between Lebanon and Israel and has called for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the southern part of Lebanon before anything else.

The Israelis have announced that this has been a successful round of talks. There are still no indications about a possible timeline for the implementation of the pilot zones.

According to the Israelis, this is part of the full framework but there are sticking points, especially when it comes to verification of the withdrawal of Hezbollah and the absence of Hezbollah from these two zones. These are two zones that Israel says are cleared of Hezbollah fighters and that it will hand over the zones to Lebanese forces, but it does want a verification process.

Israel is losing the public opinion battle in the US: Vance

US Vice President JD Vance says that “Israel is losing the public opinion battle in the US.”

He told US pod caster Joe Rogan that Israel is an ally, but admitted the country does try to influence US politics.

“Do they try to influence American politics? Yes,” Vance said. “Israel is definitely more effective at it than most.”

US needs to ‘prove it can pull Israel back’ to progress negotiations

The US is deliberately sidelining Israel when it comes to its negotiations with Iran to be able to manage the renewed outbreak of hostilities, according to Sami Halabi, director of policy at Badil | The Alternative Policy Institute, a Beirut-based think tank.

“In order to enter into good faith negotiations, and have any progress in negotiations, they have to prove that they can pull Israel back and they have some control over the Israeli war machine,” he said.

On Israel and Lebanon, Halabi said the situation is not at a point where Israel can “redeploy or withdraw from areas where they’re occupying”.

Under a US-brokered deal, the two sides have agreed to implement a “pilot zone” project that would see the disarmament of ‌armed groups – an apparent reference to Hezbollah, as well as entailing the deployment of Lebanon’s military to the south and the progressive withdrawal of Israeli forces still occupying Lebanese land.

Halabi said “Lebanon is moving from performing its sovereignty to piloting its sovereignty through these pilot zones”, which, he added, “test the ability of the United States to pressure Israel into doing so, but they also test the Lebanese army and its state institutions in reestablishing their presence and facilities”.