President Donald Trump is set to meet Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House on Tuesday as Israel began partially withdrawing forces from southern Lebanon under the US-brokered ceasefire agreement.

Aoun will be the first Lebanese president to visit the White House since 2009. His visit comes after the US-brokered a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon that is ultimately intended to end the fighting in southern Lebanon and slowly transfer control of the territory from Israel to the Lebanese military. Israel has been in conflict with Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, since early-March.

The first stage of the deal requires Israel to withdraw from several “pilot zones” near the so-called “Yellow Line,” which demarcates the area occupied by the Israeli military. On Monday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that they had transferred authority of three villages in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese military.

Trump has been pushing what would be a landmark meeting between Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But Aoun has declined to take part in such a meeting until there is a broader withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. On Monday, an Israeli military official said the IDF would still operate “to remove threats” in southern Lebanon.


-CNN