TEL AVIV — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes that a limited Israeli pullout from two pilot zones in southern Lebanon will ease President Donald Trump’s impatience and restore the relationship between the two leaders, an Israeli diplomatic source told Al-Monitor.

Politically, Netanyahu cannot afford a full withdrawal from southern Lebanon just before the Oct. 27 elections, but he also cannot afford to be continually lambasted by Trump, the source stressed, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Israel controls large parts of southern Lebanon and southern Syria, where it says its presence is vital to preventing a repeat of the cross-border Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023. Netanyahu has agreed to withdraw Israeli troops from several so-called pilot zones that the Lebanese military is expected to take over and secure against Hezbollah's efforts to reestablish itself.

The framework agreement signed June 26 in Washington envisions the pilot-zone project as a first step toward a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, but its implementation is proving difficult. The parties made some progress in Rome on Tuesday, according to the White House. Israeli, Lebanese and US military representatives were holding a video conference on Friday.