The Lebanese military accused Israel on July 26, 2026 of blocking its troops from taking control of villages in southern Lebanon. The two countries had agreed that Israel would pull out of certain areas and Lebanon's army would move in. Lebanon says Israel is still shelling, bulldozing, and clearing land, making that handover impossible.

A ceasefire is an agreement to stop fighting. Under this one, backed by the United States, Israel is supposed to gradually leave southern Lebanon while the Lebanese army steps in to keep the peace. You can think of it like a relay race: one runner hands the baton to the next. Lebanon is saying Israel has not fully let go of the baton.

The Lebanese military said Israeli forces were using machine guns, bulldozers, and shelling across at least ten towns in the south: Nabatieh, Hdda, Kunin, Bint Jbeil, Nabi Ibel al-Saqi, Khiam, al-Mansouri, Bayt al-Siyad, and Majdal Zoun in Tyre. The army said a water project in Markaba was blown up, and olive trees and farmland near Aitaroun were destroyed (Al Jazeera).

Three villages were chosen for the first phase of Israeli withdrawal: Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Froun, and Srifa. Lebanese troops moved into the first village, Zawtar al-Gharbiya, on July 21. The Israeli army pulled back to the edge of the village but said it would not withdraw further unless Hezbollah is dismantled. Hezbollah is an armed political group based in Lebanon that is more powerful than the national army in some areas. During the July 21 deployment, Israeli forces fired near Lebanese army units, and the Lebanese army warned the incident could obstruct the process (Reuters).

As of July 26, parts of western Zawtar, Tibnit, and Nabatieh al-Fawqa were still experiencing Israeli gunfire even as people who had fled their homes were returning. Al Jazeera correspondent Zeina Khodr reported from Zawtar al-Gharbiya that returning residents found their houses reduced to rubble.

The idea of these handover zones came from a ceasefire agreement that called for the Lebanese army to take exclusive security control of certain areas (Reuters). Lebanon and Israel finished US-led talks on the zones in Rome on July 15 (Reuters). Israel announced on July 20 that it had started the programme with US and Lebanese partners (Reuters). The broader withdrawal agreement was signed the previous month under US sponsorship.

The fighting has a recent and deadly history. Violence in Lebanon started again in March 2026 after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel. That was in response to a US-Israel war on Iran and the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. As of July 26, the latest round of violence had killed at least 4,330 people in Lebanon, along with 37 Israeli soldiers and 4 Israeli civilians (Al Jazeera).

Hezbollah has rejected the US-backed deal and demanded Israel leave southern Lebanon with no conditions. This creates a deep problem. The agreement calls for the Lebanese army to take control of designated areas. But Israel says it will only complete its withdrawal if Hezbollah is dismantled. The Lebanese army does not have the power to dismantle Hezbollah, and Hezbollah itself refuses to go along.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visited US President Donald Trump in Washington the week of July 19 to ask for American pressure on Israel to follow the withdrawal agreement. The visit came just days before the pilot zone deployment began. The Lebanese army's July 26 statement is essentially a public assessment that Israel has not been complying.

The broader picture here is that the situation on the ground looks less like a planned handover and more like two forces operating in the same space at the same time. Lebanese troops have entered one of three designated villages. Israeli forces continue military operations, including demolishing infrastructure and destroying farmland, across a much larger area than the pilot zone framework covers. Civilians are returning home while gunfire is still happening in Tibnit, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, and western Zawtar, which raises serious questions about the safety these zones were supposed to provide.

The coming days will likely determine whether the pilot zone plan survives its first real test or becomes another ceasefire agreement in this conflict that was accepted in principle but fell apart in practice.