The Israeli military is accelerating efforts to eliminate Hezbollah’s remaining military infrastructure across 52 villages in southern Lebanon before the United States pushes Israel toward a broader withdrawal, Israeli military sources said Wednesday.

During a visit by The Jerusalem Post to Bint Jbeil, several kilometers inside southern Lebanon, Israeli military officials described how the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dismantled what they called one of Hezbollah’s key operational hubs in the region and provided an assessment of the current situation on the ground.

The visit came after US President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that he wanted Israel to withdraw from both Lebanon and Syria.

For several weeks, Israel, the United States and Lebanon have been negotiating the details of a pilot plan under which Israel would carry out limited withdrawals from selected areas and transfer control to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

Two locations initially under discussion were Tibnin and Ali Taher Ridge, but Israeli officials said the list could change, including the possible addition of a third area.

On July 5, the Post spoke with the Givati Brigade’s weapons commander, Lt. Col. “I,” who described observing Lebanese troops moving into areas vacated by Israeli forces.

According to “I,” senior Israeli and US officials managed the coordination of the handover, while he and his troops monitored the Lebanese army’s deployment from a secure distance for several minutes.

The transfer was notable because it took place weeks before Israel had publicly indicated that formal handovers of several strategic locations in southern Lebanon would begin.

Israeli military sources stressed that the process would depend on the LAF meeting specific requirements before further withdrawals could take place.

They said Israel’s main concern was ensuring that the Lebanese army would be capable of maintaining control and preventing Hezbollah from rebuilding its military presence in areas handed over.

The partial withdrawals and territorial transfers are being coordinated by US Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Joseph R. Clearfield, who served as the main American military coordinator between Israel and Lebanon on such issues from late 2024 until the latest conflict.

He is working alongside around 30 other US military officials involved in the process.

Israeli officials said Clearfield understood the Lebanese army’s limitations and operational weaknesses. However, they expressed uncertainty over whether US political officials would maintain the same security standards if Israeli concerns conflicted with Washington’s desire to quickly resolve the Lebanon issue.

A US Central Command Marine Corps official linked to the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon declined over the weekend to provide further details about the status of the territorial transfers.

The Post reported that Clearfield met with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on July 1 and made a discreet visit to Lebanon the following day.

While Israeli officials remain concerned that the Lebanese army could again fail to remove Hezbollah from areas it takes over, as they say happened in 2024-2025, they believe there are reasons for greater optimism this time.

They pointed to the Lebanese government’s recent public meetings with Israel and its declared support for dismantling Hezbollah’s independent military capabilities.

During the visit to Bint Jbeil, Israeli forces showed reporters the remains of nearby Maroun al-Ras and several observation points overlooking the town, which served as a major Hezbollah stronghold for decades.

Much of Bint Jbeil appeared heavily damaged, with Israeli officials estimating that around 80% of the town had suffered visible destruction. However, they said only 44% of Hezbollah’s stored military infrastructure had been eliminated.

According to the IDF, approximately 1,500 Hezbollah military sites and infrastructure points have been destroyed. The military said many of these were located inside residential buildings, claiming that nearly every home in the village contained Hezbollah weapons or military equipment.

Israeli officials said the military’s immediate goal was to reduce Hezbollah’s remaining military infrastructure in southern Lebanon, including in Bint Jbeil, by at least 70%. They said achieving that level of destruction would make it extremely difficult for Hezbollah to rebuild an organized military presence, while the ultimate objective remained the complete elimination of the group’s infrastructure.

Until any possible Israeli withdrawal, the IDF said it was continuing to establish additional military positions around Bint Jbeil and other parts of southern Lebanon to prepare for potential future Hezbollah attacks.

Israeli officials said capturing Bint Jbeil was a key element of a broader strategy aimed at moving any possible Hezbollah invasion threat away from Israel’s border and pushing anti-tank missile units more than eight kilometers away from Israeli communities, placing them beyond effective firing range.

Israeli officials said the current race is to complete as much of the dismantling effort as possible before diplomatic pressure forces a wider withdrawal, leaving the future of southern Lebanon dependent on whether the Lebanese army can prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its military presence once Israeli forces leave.