Lebanon and Israel Reach Key Agreement on Hezbollah Disarmament Verification

Lebanon and Israel have agreed on a shortlist of countries to verify Hezbollah's disarmament under a U.S.-brokered deal. The verification will be conducted by foreign troops chosen by the United States, excluding private security firms. This is part of talks on Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon and Hezbollah disarmament.

In a significant development, Lebanon and Israel have reached an agreement on a shortlist of countries that could send troops to verify the disarmament of Hezbollah. This decision comes under a U.S.-brokered agreement, according to a Lebanese official who spoke on Friday.

Despite the lack of specific details on the candidate countries, it's confirmed that the United States will select these nations from the agreed list. Previous reports indicated that both Israel and the U.S. had vetoed France from participating.

The move is part of ongoing discussions to implement a June 26 agreement which ties Israel's phased withdrawal from Lebanon to the disarmament of Hezbollah, set to be monitored by a third party. The Lebanese official emphasized that only countries, not private security firms, are being considered for the verification role.