A motorcade delegation arrives on the first day of talks between the Lebanese and Israeli delegations on the backdrop of a regional escalation between Washington and Tehran at the US Embassy in Rome on July 14, 2026. (AFP
Lebanon and Israel concluded the second day of Washington-mediated talks in Rome on July 15, as Israel said it was ready to move forward with plans to withdraw from two parts of southern Lebanon.
The U.S.-brokered negotiations took place in the Italian capital over a framework agreement sealed last month after five rounds of talks in Washington, with Lebanese negotiators hoping for progress on an Israeli withdrawal.
The framework deal emerged after war broke out between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah on March 2 against the backdrop of the wider Middle East war.
It calls for an end to the war in Lebanon, disarmament of Hezbollah, the deployment of Lebanese troops in the south and for Israeli forces to steadily withdraw from the country in two “pilot zones.”
“Talks in Rome by Representatives from the United States, Israel, and Lebanon were productive and held in a positive atmosphere,” a U.S. state department official said on July 14, adding that “both sides are eager to move forward” and that talks will resume.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said earlier on July 14 that his country was “ready to move forward implementing these two pilot zones.”
“I hope and tend to believe that this round of discussions in Rome will promote it.”
The Lebanese presidency had announced on July 13 that its delegation to Rome had been instructed “to demand the immediate start of Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the two pilot zones before any further discussion.”
According to a Lebanese diplomatic source familiar with the content of the talks, “the Lebanese army is ready to gradually take control of the localities from which the Israeli army would withdraw.”
But Hezbollah rejects the agreement outright despite Lebanese government pressure, lowering expectations of success in the negotiations.
