The question was direct and so was the answer. Asked at a White House meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun whether Israel is withdrawing from Lebanon, Trump said: 'They're in the process of doing that. They're in the process of redeploying [to] other sections' [1].
The week around that statement is the test. Israel occupies nearly a fifth of Lebanese territory, and more than 4,000 people have been killed since March 2 [1]. Israeli officials have stated an objective of creating a security zone by demolishing Lebanese border villages [1] - which is not a redeployment out but the construction of a permanent buffer inside another country.
On Friday July 24, Israel attacked al-Mansouri by drone and set off blasts in Majdal Zoun [1]. The day before, an Israeli strike hit an ambulance in Nabatieh al-Fawqa and injured two medics; Lebanon's Health Ministry called it a 'flagrant violation of international and humanitarian laws and norms' [1].
Then there is the document. The US-brokered framework agreed on June 26 establishes two pilot zones and contains no withdrawal timeline [1]. There is no date in it by which Israeli forces leave any particular place.
'In the process of doing that' describes a schedule. No schedule exists. The next round of talks is August 4, in Italy - the soonest anyone could put a date on paper [1].
