Israel has told the United States through security channels that a pilot program in southern Lebanon has failed to deliver the results expected since its implementation under a memorandum of understanding between Beirut and Jerusalem, Israeli outlet Walla reported this week.

According to the report, Israel has shared information with Washington about the Lebanese Army’s activities in the area and made clear its dissatisfaction with what it considers inadequate action against Hezbollah infrastructure and operatives.

Israeli security officials said the Lebanese Army was failing to act on coordinates provided by the Israel Defense Forces identifying Hezbollah sites.

“The Lebanese Army is not destroying terrorist infrastructure based on the coordinates provided by the IDF, while at the same time asking for additional coordinates, even though it is not taking action on the information it already has,” one security official was quoted as saying.

Israeli officials have increasingly criticized the Lebanese military’s performance, arguing that it has failed to conduct effective searches, locate Hezbollah infrastructure or seize weapons in southern Lebanon.

According to assessments cited by Walla, Iran, which has long provided extensive support to Hezbollah, is currently preoccupied with its own challenges and is not rushing to intervene on the group’s behalf.

Senior Israeli military officials nevertheless believe Lebanese Army commander Gen. Rudolf Haykal remains willing to coordinate with Hezbollah and is reluctant to confront the group’s commanders in southern Lebanon. They also accuse him of failing to take sufficiently forceful action to uncover Hezbollah positions and weapons caches.

“There is no real friction between the Lebanese Army and Hezbollah,” a senior security official said. “Hezbollah would not want anyone to collect its weapons or destroy its infrastructure.”

The official added that Haykal “is not going above and beyond” and that there was “no real enforcement.”

“The Lebanese Army is more focused on coordination,” the official said. “It is clear that Israel is not satisfied, and therefore it is not rushing to agree to additional pilot areas.”

The official cited one incident in which Lebanese troops allegedly approached an underground opening but stopped after advancing only a few meters.

“The Lebanese Army reached a point, entered the underground opening a few meters, turned around and left. They did not dare to go inside,” the official said. “We assess that they will not deal with anything. Despite this, they insist on receiving more coordinates.”

The Israeli concerns could complicate efforts to expand the pilot program to additional areas of southern Lebanon. Israel has linked the creation of further pilot zones to tangible evidence that the Lebanese Army is prepared to act against Hezbollah and enforce the state’s authority on the ground.

Qassem rejects framework agreement

The Israeli assessment comes as Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has again rejected the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, saying the Iran-backed group would not surrender its weapons nearly six months after the outbreak of war with Israel.

“We are against the framework agreement and call for its downfall,” Qassem said in a televised address broadcast by Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television on Friday.

He described the agreement as “illegitimate, unlawful, humiliating, destructive to Lebanese sovereignty,” and rejected any arrangement that would require Hezbollah to comply with the proposed pilot zones.

“We do not agree to the ‘pilot zones’ or to what comes from them,” Qassem said, also rejecting a proposed verification mechanism.