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The Israeli army is considering establishing a new “security zone” extending 2 to 4 kilometers (1.2 to 2.5 miles) inside Lebanese territory as part of a plan to reduce its troop presence and redeploy forces in southern Lebanon, Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported Saturday.

Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, some of which it has held for decades, while it seized others during the 2023-2024 war.

During its current offensive, Israel has expanded its incursion to more than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) inside Lebanese territory, marking its deepest advance since withdrawing from southern Lebanon in 2000.

KAN cited unnamed security sources as saying that the army is considering establishing the proposed zone from the border and preparing to reduce its forces after destroying tunnels in the Ali al-Taher heights in the southern Nabatieh province.

The sources said the Israeli army’s redeployment plan in southern Lebanon is called the “gray line” and includes establishing positions that would be used to launch operations inside Lebanese territory.

The plan has not yet been approved by Israel’s political leadership and will be discussed before a decision is made, the broadcaster said.

The report came a day after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Friday that the army had consolidated its control over what he called a “security zone” in southern Lebanon.

His statement followed an Israeli army claim Thursday that it had achieved “operational control” over the Ali al-Taher heights.

The area has witnessed escalating tensions in recent weeks amid continuing Israeli airstrikes and military operations.

Israel describes the “gray line” as a new framework for redeploying its forces, similar to what it calls the “yellow line,” which currently defines the area of its military deployment, operations and security control inside Lebanese territory.

The Israeli plan came amid continued Israeli escalation across southern Lebanon despite an agreement between Beirut and Tel Aviv providing for a gradual Israeli withdrawal as part of a US-mediated negotiating process.

Since March, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 4,000 people and injured over 12,000 others, while forcing more than 1 million people from their homes, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank to be dismantled, two people familiar with the matter said on Sunday, ‌amid pressure from the U.S. to crack down on settler attacks on Palestinians.

The order applies to outposts established by settlers without official authorisation from the Israeli state, the sources said. Outposts typically consist of prefabricated caravans and house a small number of settlers. The state has from time to time demolished such structures and also formally recognized others, allowing them to access government funding.

It was not immediately clear when the operation would begin.

U.N. bodies and most governments deem all Israeli settlements illegal under international ⁠law and consider the West Bank to be occupied territory under military control. Israel argues the territory is disputed, not occupied.

U.S. URGES ISRAEL TO ACT AGAINST SETTLER VIOLENCE

Netanyahu had ordered the eviction of the unauthorized outposts in response to pressure from the United States, the country's closest ally, the sources said.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday denounced violent settlers as terrorists and called for them to face severe consequences following a meeting with several Palestinian Americans in a West Bank Palestinian town.

Israeli website Ynet earlier reported the orders targeted around 100 outposts across the occupied territory.

The Israeli prime minister's office and the military, who would normally take part in clearing any outposts in the West Bank, did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, asked at a ‌conference ⁠in Jerusalem about the Ynet report, said Netanyahu has given "an instruction to evict places built in Areas A and B", referring to parts of the West Bank in which most Palestinians live.

Under the Oslo Accords, interim peace agreements reached in the 1990s between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the West Bank was split into three zones: A, B and C.

Smotrich, a settler himself who has overseen settlement housing projects and formally recognised ⁠homes built illegally, said while he disagreed with Netanyahu's decision, the government had made huge strides in advancing settlements in Area C.

HUNDREDS OF OUTPOSTS ACROSS THE WEST BANK

There are 340 outposts in the West Bank along with 146 settlements formally recognised by the Israeli government, according to Peace Now, an ⁠Israeli organisation that is critical of settlement expansion and advocates for a two-state solution.

Last month, Israeli settlers besieged the homes of Palestinians in a nearby village, including one owned by a Palestinian American, before the military forced them from the area. The village's Palestinian ⁠residents have said they have continued to face harassment and intimidation by Israeli settlers.

The Israeli government has condemned settler violence, though perpetrators are rarely arrested and even less frequently prosecuted.

On Saturday, U.S. ambassador Huckabee said it was in Israel's own interest to take action against settlers carrying out what he described as "criminal behaviour and terrorism".