Lebanon and Israel concluded US-brokered talks in Rome on Wednesday, which further reinforced that both countries were in agreement on the need to dismantle and disarm Hezbollah, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post.
A US official said they had made progress on implementing a plan that could see Israeli forces begin to withdraw from some parts of southern Lebanon within days.
Under a US-brokered June 26 framework deal, Lebanon and Israel agreed to implement a "pilot zone" project that would see the disarmament of Hezbollah, the deployment of Lebanese troops and progressive withdrawal of the IDF.
Two pilot zones were agreed upon to test the successful expression of Lebanese sovereignty through the implementation of agreed-upon conditions by the Lebanese armed forces and verification by the US, the official told the Post.
Discussions are continuing to find a way to both facilitate the removal of contraband weapons and respect Lebanese law regarding private property.
UNIFIL and UNTSO were not discussed, nor will they be part of any verification model, according to the official.
US described the talks as productive, positive
In written comments distributed to journalists, a US official described the two days of talks as "productive and positive."
"We agreed on the structure and guidelines for the pilot zone process, to be finalized and implemented in the coming days," the official said.
Reuters contributed to this story.