• Trump meets Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and promises to broker peace, but will not say when Israeli troops might withdraw from southern Lebanon.
• The Lebanese army has deployed to its first “pilot zone” in southern Lebanon, entering the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, following an Israeli pullout under a US-brokered agreement.

Trump sees deal in Lebanon as key to settlement with Iran

Donald Trump would like to see a deal in Lebanon because he believes that will help in discussions with the Iranians.

Iranians have made it very clear they would not enter discussions to end the war or reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the situation in Beirut is also addressed.

For a long time, the Iranians were not prepared to get to the negotiating table because of Israel’s continued operations in southern Lebanon. Israel has actually frustrated Trump, because many times, just as he felt he was getting close to a deal with the Iranians, or at least getting them to the table, Israel took action in southern Lebanon, which he believed derailed attempts for peace.

In fact, on several occasions, he said Netanyahu had to see the big picture.

Trump is certainly keen to get some sort of negotiated settlement with the Iranians. He’s said Iran wants to talk, but he has said that before. And he’s made it clear he’ll continue the pressure. He’s been given options about what can happen next, including a much bigger military operation with more targets and greater intensity.

UN says 400,000 people still displaced in Lebanon

The UN has said that more than 400,000 people are still displaced in Lebanon, with many families unable to “return home safely due to continued attacks”.

Thousands of families still living in shelters have said they are experiencing “worsening shelter conditions, reduced access to water and hygiene services, and limited opportunities to earn an income,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

“Many also said they are increasingly relying on borrowing funds to meet basic needs, including the purchase of essential medicines,” Dujarric said.

Their “repeated attempts to return home have often been reversed due to insecurity, damaged infrastructure and limited access to basic services back in their home areas”, he added.

Lebanon PM Nawaf Salam visits southern town one day after army deployment

Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has arrived in the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya in the country’s south.

The visit came one day after the Lebanese army began deploying to the area following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the sector as part of a US-mediated agreement.

Lebanon’s PM says return of life to the south is ‘a national objective’

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has visited a town in southern Lebanon that his government is to take control of from occupying Israeli forces, saying: “The return of life to the south is not merely a slogan but a national objective to which the state is committed.

“The return of our people to their land is the truest expression of Lebanon’s unity and sovereignty.”

Salam shared the comments in a video on X from Zawtar al-Gharbiya, one of three towns that are in the first phase of a “pilot zone” project that’s part of a larger framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel signed in Washington, DC, last month.

Salam said the Lebanese government’s goal is “the complete Israeli withdrawal from all our territories. What we are witnessing today is merely the beginning, but we are determined and steadfast, and we will continue to mobilize all our political and diplomatic efforts to secure a complete withdrawal from all Lebanese territory.”

In a message for the people of southern Lebanon, Salam said: “We have begun to mobilise all the state’s resources to facilitate your return. The Lebanese army and security forces are in place to protect our returning people. … We will continue to open roads, clear rubble and provide essential services, so that our people may return safely and with dignity to their homes and villages.”

Hezbollah disarmament requires full Israeli withdrawal: Aoun

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says Hezbollah’s disarmament is only possible if the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon ends.

Aoun made the remarks at a dinner in Washington, DC, hosted by Nada Hamadeh Moawad, Lebanon’s ambassador to the US, in honour of the president and his delegation visiting the US, the presidency said in a statement.

“The Lebanese model deserves protection not for Lebanon alone but for the region and because it is based on the same foundation upon which your nation was built,” Aoun said at the event attended by members of the US Congress and officials from the Trump administration.

“Hezbollah can be disarmed only if we are truly sincere in taking the necessary steps – namely, if the occupation ends, the army gains full control throughout the country and the reconstruction programme is carried out solely by the state,” he added.

Aoun met with Trump at the White House on Tuesday.

Lebanese government under pressure to exercise control over the whole country

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam made a political statement here that the state is present and will help them rebuild their homes and restore basic services.

Zawtar al-Gharbiya has been totally destroyed. We haven’t been able to enter the town yet. The Lebanese army is still clearing the area from unexploded ordnances.

But this was not just a message to the people of south Lebanon. This was also a show to the international community as the Lebanese government is under pressure to exercise control over the whole country, to extend state authority across southern Lebanon.

We saw the image of the Lebanese prime minister planting the Lebanese flag in the middle of the town. It could also be a message to Hezbollah as the Lebanese army is supposed to prevent Hezbollah’s return to the town, but the people of Zawtar al-Gharbiya told us they don’t have faith in the agreement that was signed between Lebanon and Israel and there are no real security guarantees for them to return and not to be killed by Israeli forces.

We have to remember: This is just one village, and the Israeli army controls dozens of villages, 6 percent of Lebanese territory.

Latest round of talks between Israel and Lebanon to be held in Italy next month

Italy’s foreign minister has told parliament that a new round of US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place in Italy on August 4.

Antonio Tajani’s announcement comes after talks between the two countries were held in Rome last week.

Explosions continue as Israeli forces remain stationed in southern Lebanon

Between the village of Qaaqaait al-Jisr and Zawtar al-Gharbiyah lies the pilot zone from which the Israelis withdrew a couple of days ago. The Lebanese army was deployed there yesterday and this morning.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and a number of other senior officials planted the country’s flag in the town, a symbol of the state’s return to this part of southern Lebanon.

But it has not been without complications.

Speaking to the people today, there is some sense of frustration with that visit, as Salam didn’t stop to talk to people or bring them with him [back to their homes in the area].

The reason given is that the town is still not safe, as there’s unexploded ordnance that needs to be sorted out. But there are people who have been waiting here for two days now.

Nearby is a Lebanese army checkpoint, which is preventing people from returning to their homes.

Most of them are not really sure what they’re going to find, as they don’t know if their homes have been destroyed or not. Over the course of the day, we’ve heard the sounds of further explosions coming from Israeli forces who are still occupying villages in the surrounding hills and detonating homes.

People of southern Lebanon fearful of direct confrontation between army, Hezbollah

Hezbollah has had a very strong arsenal of weapons and men, particularly here in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley, for a long time now.

While that has been degraded throughout the course of this war and the one in 2024, there are still some questions here in Lebanon, not about the army’s capacity but its willingness and the consequences of any kind of direct confrontation with Hezbollah. People here have really been seeking to avoid this as they’re worried that it will fracture the country.

People say they’re skeptical about what the army’s even doing in the village of Qaaqaait al-Jisr.

They say the army isn’t clearing unexploded ordnance, but instead searching for weapons in their homes. One woman said: “We don’t need the army to go into Zawtar al-Gharbiya because the people of Zawtar al-Gharbiya can defend themselves”.

So, that gives you some indication of the level of mistrust among some communities here in the south, who, despite the presence of their prime minister here this morning, still feel somewhat abandoned by their state.