U.S. and Israeli officials denied a Refinitiv report that Lebanon and Israel had
agreed to an international mechanism to verify Hezbollah disarmament involving
forces from the UK, Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia. An Israeli source familiar
with the matter called the report false; officials say there is no agreement on
the composition of a verification body or on which countries could deploy forces
to Lebanon after UNIFIL’s mandate ends to assist disarmament. A U.S. official
likewise denied any agreement, saying disputes over the identity of the
verification mechanism remains a core issue in U.S.-mediated talks and
negotiations are ongoing.
