Will American forces return to Lebanon in a new guise? | news

In light of the internal Lebanese controversy and division over the framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel, press leaks indicate that the United States intends to deploy forces in southern Lebanon to monitor the commitment of the Lebanese and Israeli armies to the agreement.

An American official – who requested that his name not be published – revealed to the Washington Post that the United States will play a direct role in monitoring the movements of the Lebanese army and the Israeli army, including the use of American forces on the ground in Lebanon and Israel.

The official said that the United States has forces in Lebanon that have been performing a monitoring role since the 2024 agreement, and that it will now monitor both parties to monitor any violations of the agreement.

He added that the commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) will not assume a direct role in monitoring either party, but CENTCOM officials will inform the administration of President Donald Trump of any violations so that it in turn intervenes.

These leaks coincide with a visit made by the Commander of the US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, to Beirut yesterday, which was the first since Lebanon and Israel signed the framework agreement.

Colleague Mahmoud Al-Zebak says in the interactive map that the talk about the American role in southern Lebanon coincides with the expiration of the deadline for the United Nations Forces (UNIFIL) and the proposal of France and Italy to establish a monitoring mission to support the framework agreement, a proposal that he said the Lebanese government welcomed.

No military and combat role

Regarding the nature of the potential American role in Lebanon, military and strategic expert Khalil Gemayel says that the Mechanics Committee has been replaced by another committee that includes the United States, the Lebanese Army, and Israel in indirect coordination, meaning that Washington is the mediator.

In addition to the three parties, the mechanism included France and UNIFIL, but the latter two were excluded, so that the new committee became the mechanism that played a monitoring role.

During the military analysis segment on Al Jazeera, Gemayel ruled out that there would be American forces on the ground, nor that they would have any military or combat role. Rather, their role would be limited to monitoring the implementation of the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

He attributed the importance of the “very effective” American role to its ability to put pressure on Israel, and for this reason the Lebanese side resorted to it in order for the occupation army to withdraw from southern Lebanon, as the military and strategic expert said.

He considered the American side to be the “neutral guarantor” of the framework agreement that was signed in Washington under American sponsorship.

For his part, journalist and political writer, Rashid Fayed, believes that UNIFIL forces have been reviewing their role for a while and their mission will end, and therefore the alternative to them is the American party, because it is the guarantor of the framework agreement, and therefore it will be responsible for monitoring and implementing this agreement.

Fayed pointed out – in his speech within the “Window from Beirut” segment – that Europe had tried to take an initiative requiring France and Britain to prepare forces to be sent to southern Lebanon, but those countries did not need to get involved in the Lebanese crisis.

He believes that the American alternative is being presented in light of the absence of discussions about the idea of ​​establishing a joint Arab force to be sent to southern Lebanon.

Justification for Israeli attacks

On the other hand, the writer and political analyst Tawfiq Shoman said that talk about the presence of American forces on the territory of Lebanon is a restoration of the way things were after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and what was then called the multinational forces, which were led by the Americans.

Schuman added that what the Washington Post reported confirms that the United States wants to exclude everything related to UNIFIL forces and the multinational forces in which France and Italy announced their willingness to participate.

He continued that the primary mission of the American forces supposed to be deployed in southern Lebanon – according to press leaks – is to justify the Israeli attacks and the failure to implement withdrawals from the occupied Lebanese territories.

Shoman wondered whether these American forces were a monitoring force or an effective logistical force, and that “any violation by the Lebanese side could be confronted by the Americans with force.”

On June 26, 2026, in Washington, with American sponsorship, Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement that was met with internal Lebanese rejection, especially by Hezbollah, where its Secretary-General Naim Qassem said that the party would deal with it as if it were “non-existent,” and considered it a “relinquishment of sovereignty.”