Lebanese Reports: Israel Is Cutting Roads to Link Military Positions in Southern Lebanon
Key Facts
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli forces are cutting roads through the mountains and valleys of southern Lebanon to link military positions, according to a report published by Arab News. The work is concentrated, the report said, in the western and central sectors, where Israel maintains positions in occupied territory. This comes as negotiations between Lebanon and Israel continue to face disagreements over Israel’s withdrawal and Hezbollah’s disarmament. The report said the road works followed US-brokered military and technical talks held in Florida during the previous month. No breakthrough was announced at those meetings and no joint statement was issued, according to Arab News.
In the central sector, the areas cited include Aita al-Shaab, Maroun al-Ras, Bint Jbeil and Aitaroun, according to the report Arab News attributed to the National News Agency. In the western sector, the work includes Naqoura, Yarine, Dhayra, Marwahin and Alma al-Shaab. The report said the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers are deployed in the area. It also said demolition operations are taking place in occupied areas, without providing further details about the locations or scale of those operations. The report describes the roads as connecting military positions, but gave no details about the construction of new bases or separate logistics infrastructure.
The US-sponsored talks ended without an announcement of progress or a joint statement, but reports said the two sides had agreed to continue negotiations. The withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon remains a point of disagreement, alongside the issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament, according to Arab News. A framework agreement reached in June called for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon in parallel with Hezbollah’s disarmament, according to the Associated Press. In the same month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon until the group was disarmed, and announced that the army was establishing two pilot zones. The US State Department also said it would provide $100 million in humanitarian aid under the framework and facilitate the creation of a military coordination group for Lebanon.
As part of the implementation of security arrangements, the Associated Press reported in November 2025 that the Lebanese army had reinforced its deployment along the border to nearly 10,000 troops and closed 11 smuggling crossings on the Litani River. The report cited the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as saying that 127 civilians had been killed in Israeli airstrikes since the ceasefire in November 2024. These figures provide a backdrop to the security and humanitarian challenges facing efforts to consolidate arrangements on the ground. In a separate field development, the Associated Press warned that a broad battle on Ali al-Taher hill near Nabatieh could widen the fighting in the country and complicate efforts to end the Iran war. The agency had linked those risks to the possibility of the confrontation in Lebanon expanding.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon is scheduled to end its operations on December 31, 2026, after which an orderly and safe withdrawal lasting a year is to begin, according to the Associated Press. A UN official warned of the risk of a security vacuum during this phase. On the political track, Lebanon’s presidency said a military delegation would present Beirut’s demands for an end to Israeli attacks at a trilateral meeting in Tampa on October 20, 2026. Reuters reported that Israel and Lebanon had held several direct talks in the preceding months. Negotiations continue amid differing positions over withdrawal and disarmament, according to the reports.