IDF Northern Command officials see no fixed timetable for pulling back from positions north and south of the Yellow Line in southern Lebanon. When withdrawal eventually takes place, the Lebanese Armed Forces are slated to search the zone, eliminate Hezbollah facilities, and clear out militants, according to information obtained by Walla on Tuesday.

The officers doubt the LAF can fulfill the framework agreed upon by Jerusalem and Beirut in a thorough and professional way. A large portion of LAF personnel consists of Shiite soldiers who would likely avoid direct confrontation with Hezbollah on the ground.

Consequently, the IDF will remain at every location in southern Lebanon until the LAF launches its pilot program.

Under the bilateral understandings, the LAF must announce when it is prepared to begin the operation, which involves removing explosives, gathering arms and equipment, and dismantling positions, bunkers, and tunnels constructed by Hezbollah and Iranian forces over roughly two decades.

A security source indicated that Lebanese authorities are expected to supply a date within the next few weeks. Until that point, the IDF will continue locating, mapping, and neutralizing terrorist infrastructure.

IDF steps up pace of Hezbollah infrastructure destruction

The source added that the rate of engineering operations against all infrastructure Hezbollah employed against Israel is rising daily. IDF figures show that nearly every building in villages across the western and central sectors of southern Lebanon has been razed, while approximately 73 percent of structures in the eastern sector have been destroyed.

One officer noted that after Operation Northern Arrows, LAF commanders assured American and European officials they would clear frontline villages near the Israeli border of weapons and fighters. In reality, the officer said, those pledges proved false, as commanders refrained from action out of concern over Hezbollah retaliation.

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the security zone in southern Lebanon with Defense Minister Israel Katz, National Security Council Chief Shmuel Ben-Ezra, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Tamir Yadai, and the premier's Military Secretary Maj.-Gen. Guy Markizeno.

The group received updates from IDF Northern Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Rafi Milo, 91st Division Chief Brig.-Gen. Yuval Gez, and additional brigade commanders deployed in the security zone.