Israel is considering withdrawing from most of the Lebanese territory it currently occupies and redeploying its forces to a narrower security zone extending between two and four kilometers inside Lebanon, according to Israeli media reports, in a move that could replace its current positions along what has been dubbed the “Yellow Line.”

The reported plan comes after the Israeli military announced that it had established operational control over the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon and begun clearing and destroying an extensive underground network it says was built by Hezbollah.

Israeli officials have described the coming days as particularly sensitive, raising the possibility of two sharply different scenarios: Hezbollah, and potentially Iran, could retaliate and trigger a new escalation, or the group could absorb the setback, allowing Israel to pull back from the ridge and other positions along the current “Yellow Line” and establish a new security line closer to the border.

Under the reported plan, Israel would retain positions between two and four kilometers inside Lebanese territory, creating what Israeli media have called the “Gray Line.”

Israeli military sources told Kan 11 that after declaring operational control of Ali al-Taher and clearing underground tunnels and infrastructure there, the army was preparing to significantly reduce and redeploy its forces toward a new security belt closer to the Israeli-Lebanese border.

The security establishment has held discussions in recent days about establishing the new zone, from which Israeli forces would protect communities along the border, according to the broadcaster.

Under the proposal, Israeli troops would withdraw from parts of the current “Yellow Line,” which encompasses Israel’s existing security zone and, in some areas, extends north of the Litani River to strategic locations including Beaufort Castle and the Ali al-Taher heights.

Instead, troops would move back toward the international border and establish positions inside Lebanese territory along the proposed Gray Line.

Those positions could be used as launching points for Israeli military operations deeper inside Lebanon if Hezbollah activity were detected, according to the reported plan.

Israel would also seek to use the new arrangement to advance a political agreement with the Lebanese government on Hezbollah's disarmament.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem has repeatedly said the group would hand over its weapons only to the Lebanese state as part of a process that includes an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

“Without withdrawal, there can be no dismantling of the weapons,” Qassem has said.

Israel is expected to seek concrete guarantees in return, including that the Lebanese army take control of the areas from which Israeli forces withdraw and prevent Hezbollah from returning to its former positions in southern Lebanon.

The proposed arrangement would also include a mechanism allowing Israel to monitor the process and intervene militarily if Hezbollah attempted to return and the Lebanese army failed to prevent it.

Nonetheless, Kan 11 reported that the plan remains under discussion and has not yet received final approval from Israel's political leadership.

Questions remain over how the areas would be handed over to the Lebanese army and how any resulting arrangements would be incorporated into negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.

Still, the broad direction of the plan suggests that the Israeli military is preparing for a substantial reduction in its ground presence in Lebanon.