A man and a Lebanese soldier stand side by side as an excavator clears rubble in Zawtar Gharbieh, southern Lebanon, on July 28, 2026. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
At the recently installed Lebanese Army checkpoint near the entrance to Zawtar Gharbieh, an elderly man slows his car. "Is it safe? Really safe?" he asks, his window lowered, to the soldier, who brushes aside his concerns. The Mercedes moves on. Deployed for a week in this "pilot zone" set out by the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, the army is now the guardian of the area, while Israeli troops remain on the village outskirts. Current situation in the South Israeli demolitions and strikes continue across the South At the checkpoint, two soldiers scrutinize drivers before waving them through. "For three days, we've been seeing them come. We're memorizing their faces," says one of them under the burning sun. "We can feel they're on edge," adds another soldier. The...
At the recently installed Lebanese Army checkpoint near the entrance to Zawtar Gharbieh, an elderly man slows his car. "Is it safe? Really safe?" he asks, his window lowered, to the soldier, who brushes aside his concerns. The Mercedes moves on. Deployed for a week in this "pilot zone" set out by the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, the army is now the guardian of the area, while Israeli troops remain on the village outskirts. Current situation in the South Israeli demolitions and strikes continue across the South At the checkpoint, two soldiers scrutinize drivers before waving them through. "For three days, we've been seeing them come. We're memorizing their faces," says one of them under the burning sun. "We can feel they're on edge," adds another soldier. The...