A plan was revealed in Israel to withdraw from most of the occupied Lebanese territories, and to be content with remaining at a distance of between two and four kilometers, within a line called the “gray line,” instead of the currently occupied “yellow line.”
After the Israeli army announced the completion of its occupation of Ali al-Tahir Hill in southern Lebanon, and the beginning of the destruction of the “tunnel city” that Hezbollah had built underground, it began talking about “sensitive days” coming in the north of the country, which may push the region towards one of two opposite paths: either Hezbollah, and perhaps Iran as well, will respond, and the region will ignite in the fire of war again, or they will swallow the blow, and the Israeli army will withdraw from these heights, and from the “yellow line,” to establish A “gray border line” extending to the security belt.
In this case, the occupation will be limited to a distance of 2-4 kilometers from the international border, deep inside Lebanon.
Military sources in Tel Aviv said, according to Kan 11, that after announcing “operational control and clearing of tunnels and underground infrastructure in Ali al-Taher Hill in southern Lebanon, while its forces are still working to neutralize and destroy tunnels in the region, the Israeli army is preparing to reduce and redeploy its forces and withdraw back, within a new “security belt” area close to the Israeli-Lebanese border.
"gray line"
The channel quoted these sources as saying that the security establishment held sessions in recent days regarding establishing a “new security zone” close to the border, through which the army will protect the border towns. Under the proposed plan, instead of the “yellow line” in Lebanon, which includes the “security zone” and in certain areas extending to the north of the Litani River as well, such as Beaufort Castle and the Ali al-Taher Hills, Israeli army forces will withdraw to the back and be stationed closer to the border.
He called the area the “gray line.” Where military sites will be established in which Israeli army soldiers will be stationed inside Lebanese territory, they will be able to be used to go deep into Lebanese territory in the event that Hezbollah activity is discovered.
The army will ask the government to take advantage of the new situation, by reaching a political agreement with the Lebanese government that allows reaching understandings on disarming the party, noting that the Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, had stated that he would hand over his weapons only to the Lebanese state, as part of practical steps that show a withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanese territory, “and without withdrawal there is no room for dismantling the weapons.”
The army sets specific concrete demands in this context, such as that the official army take over these areas, pledge not to allow Hezbollah to return to its positions in the south, and agree on a mechanism that allows Israel to monitor this process and intervene to prevent this return by force if the Lebanese army does not control it.
Waiting for authentication
According to Kan 11, the plan is still incomplete, and has not yet been approved by the political level.
There are many questions about it, most notably those related to handing over the region to the Lebanese army and negotiations between the two countries, but the bottom line is that the Israeli army is preparing to significantly reduce its forces.
This comes after the forces of the “36th Division” worked in recent weeks on Ali Al-Taher Hill through ambushes, attacking tunnel openings, and using hand grenades and drones, in addition to air and ground fire. According to what the Israeli army announced.
He said that the forces found command and control rooms, weapons depots, electrical generator rooms, kitchens, bathrooms and sleeping rooms inside a complex in the hill, which allowed Hezbollah members to conduct combat operations for a long period underground.
The Israeli army says that this is a strategic infrastructure that was established over nearly two decades with Iranian planning and financing.
