Israel’s expansion of operations deeper into southern Lebanon after taking control of the Ali al-Taher ridge is part of a plan backed by a conditional U.S. green light, according to U.S. diplomatic sources familiar with the matter, as concerns grow that the military campaign could widen beyond the current front.

The sources told Erem News that the understanding allows Israel to strike Hezbollah’s military and strategic positions while avoiding Beirut, residential areas in southern cities and the Lebanese army.

They said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later went beyond some of the parameters discussed during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in late July, after Israel provided Washington with information it said showed that Iranian Revolutionary Guard experts were present at sites in southern Lebanon and helping direct Hezbollah operations in several areas, including Ali al-Taher.

Israel also told Washington that homes in southern villages were being used to launch rockets at Israeli positions along the border, the sources said.

The Israeli army has continued operations in southern Lebanon since establishing operational control over Ali al-Taher, while Netanyahu has reiterated that Israel will keep targeting Hezbollah’s military infrastructure.

The prospect of a broader campaign has raised concerns over a further escalation. Some observers have linked the trajectory of the fighting to Netanyahu’s domestic political calculations ahead of Knesset elections expected in October, although such assessments are political interpretations rather than an officially declared Israeli position.

A U.S. diplomat familiar with Lebanese-Israeli negotiations said the areas targeted in Israel’s current operations were primarily connected to efforts to prevent the establishment of corridors or positions that could be used to launch attacks against northern Israel.

The diplomat told Erem News that Israel’s approach was based on preemptive strikes against military infrastructure that Tel Aviv considers a security threat, while seeking to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its capabilities near the front.

The Trump administration views the Israeli operations in southern Lebanon as part of a broader effort to curb Iran’s military influence, the diplomat said, particularly in light of information Israel provided about Iranian Revolutionary Guard activity in the south.

Washington has also received information from Lebanese sources aligned with the United States about recent efforts to smuggle Iranian weapons to Hezbollah, the diplomat said.

Military experts and observers say Israel’s immediate priority is to consolidate its control over Ali al-Taher and its strategic positions before potentially moving deeper into Lebanon, particularly toward the Iqlim al-Tuffah region.

The northern Bekaa and Hermel area also remain highly sensitive because of what is believed to be Hezbollah’s deployment of strategic missiles there.

Retired Brig. Gen. Marcel Baloukji, a strategic expert, said the capture of Ali al-Taher was strategically important for Israel because of the ridge’s location and its links to three major operational axes in southern Lebanon.

The Rihan and Sajd areas command even more important high ground and, according to Baloukji, contain positions associated with Hezbollah’s Emad-4 systems, missile launchers and drone capabilities.

A further Israeli advance could involve tightening pressure on the Nabatiyeh axis and severing its connection to the Zahrani area before moving toward the Rihan-Sajd axis and attempting to encircle it as far as the Awali River, Baloukji said.

He described Iqlim al-Tuffah as one of Hezbollah’s main areas of military strength.

Such a move would also seek to cut Hezbollah’s support routes and logistical base from their extension toward the northern Bekaa, he said.

Baloukji nevertheless ruled out the possibility that all of these areas would become immediate targets at the current stage. Expanding the campaign into them could trigger attacks on northern Israel and create additional domestic pressure on the Israeli government, he said.

Baloukji said Israel could divide its next military objectives into stages, potentially timing moves toward Rihan and Sajd to coincide with upcoming rounds of negotiations.

Developments on the ground could then be used as leverage at the negotiating table, he said.

Iqlim al-Tuffah would remain the most sensitive area in such a scenario because of its role in Hezbollah’s military network and its links to supply routes and deeper deployment areas, Baloukji said.

Nayef Azar, a researcher in Lebanese international relations, also said the capture of Ali al-Taher was unlikely to mark the end of Israel’s operations.

The Israeli campaign began around Beaufort Castle before extending toward a number of strategic hills and positions, Azar said.

In his assessment, Hezbollah had refused to hand some of those positions over to the Lebanese army despite mounting military pressure, before control of them eventually passed to Israel.

Azar expects Mount Rihan to feature in Israel’s next moves, followed potentially by Iqlim al-Tuffah. At a later stage, he said, Israeli pressure could shift toward the Bekaa as Hezbollah continues to retain an advanced missile arsenal.

He also linked the possibility of intensified military pressure to Netanyahu’s domestic political calculations ahead of the elections, pointing to criticism from communities in northern Israel over the government’s failure so far to reach a final settlement on Hezbollah’s weapons.

In Azar’s assessment, Netanyahu is seeking to turn battlefield gains into leverage both domestically and at the negotiating table. That could encourage Israel to take control of positions deeper inside Lebanon to improve its terms in any eventual settlement.

Israel’s full withdrawal from southern Lebanon will remain tied, in the Israeli view, to the deployment of the Lebanese army and completion of arrangements to disarm Hezbollah, Azar said.

He expects Israel to seek to retain security positions for a transitional period, using them as a bargaining chip in any future political and security arrangements.