WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Israeli forces conducted a first withdrawal from a town in south Lebanon and were replaced by the Lebanese military under a ceasefire deal, the United States Central Command (Centcom) said Wednesday.

The command’s leader General Erik Kurilla “was present at the implementation and monitoring headquarters today during the ongoing first Israeli Defense Forces withdrawal and Lebanese Armed Forces replacement in Al-Khiam, Lebanon, as part of the (ceasefire) agreement,” Centcom said in a statement.

“This is an important first step in the implementation of a lasting cessation of hostilities and lays the foundation for continued progress,” the statement quoted Kurilla as saying.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that the stationing of troops “in the Khiam and Marjayoun areas today represents a fundamental step towards strengthening the army’s deployment in the south, in implementation of the ceasefire decision.”

“We salute the army’s efforts” toward establishing “stability in the south,” Mikati said in a post on X.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, said its 7th Brigade had “concluded their mission in Khiam in southern Lebanon.”

“In accordance with the ceasefire understandings and with the coordination of the United States, soldiers of the Lebanese Armed Forces are being deployed in the area together” with UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the area, the Israeli statement said.