Senior source to LBCI: US General expected in Beirut to launch pilot zones under Lebanon-Israel framework

A senior source told LBCI that U.S. General Joseph Clair Field is expected to arrive in Beirut this week to reside in the Lebanese capital and begin the first phase of implementing the pilot zones outlined in the Lebanon-Israel framework agreement.

The source said Israel had agreed to move forward with the implementation under U.S. pressure but was attempting to undermine the process by spreading claims that Christian border villages wanted to join Israel and by carrying out attacks against Lebanese civilians, including the strike in Nabatieh al-Faouqa on Monday.

The source added that Lebanese officials are awaiting Hezbollah's position on the implementation of the pilot zones, expressing hope that the group will not obstruct the process or provide Israel with what it described as a pretext to resume full-scale war.

According to the source, the framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel has helped maintain relative calm in southern Lebanon and allowed residents to return to some areas.

The source also said discussions about forming a four-party military coordination cell following negotiations in Islamabad had made no progress, arguing that Iran appeared unwilling to support such a mechanism.

If such a coordination body is eventually established, the source said Lebanon wants to be represented directly at the negotiating table alongside U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, rather than communicating through Iranian official Mohammad Reza Sheibani in Beirut.