U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa warned a senior Shiite cleric that Israel could launch a full-scale military invasion reaching as far as Beirut if Hezbollah does not surrender its weapons, according to Al-Modon news portal.

Sheikh Ali al-Khatib, deputy head of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, said Issa conveyed the warning to him during a meeting last month, making clear that Israel was determined to force Hezbollah to give up its weapons.

The report comes amid a series of messages that Israel has conveyed to Lebanon, directly and through multiple channels, demanding the dismantling of Hezbollah's military infrastructure across the country.

According to Al-Modon, Israel has specifically called on the Lebanese army to deploy in the Jabal al-Rihane and Iqlim al-Tuffah areas and dismantle Hezbollah positions there.

Israel has identified what it considers key and strategic Hezbollah sites and asked the Lebanese army to remove them, the newspaper reported. The message was accompanied by a warning that the situation seen at Ali al-Taher should not be repeated.

Diplomatic sources told Al-Modon that Israel has gone further by demanding a list of the names of all Lebanese army officers and personnel expected to deploy in the areas in question. Israel is also seeking direct military coordination with the Lebanese army, the sources said.

Israeli officials have also conveyed concerns to Lebanon that Hezbollah is seeking to return to villages and towns along the so-called Yellow Line and is using the return of residents to those areas as an opportunity to rebuild its fighting units, according to the report.

Israel has made clear that it will not allow Hezbollah to reconstitute its forces or redeploy in those areas, the report said.

That position has raised concerns that Israel could again resort to displacing residents from southern villages and towns, using Hezbollah's alleged presence there as justification.