Israel’s public broadcaster reported Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told senior ministers he had received an American “green light” to carry out a military operation in Lebanon, amid a sharp uptick in Israeli strikes and renewed diplomatic pressure on Beirut to accelerate steps aimed at curbing Hezbollah’s armed presence.
The claim, attributed by regional outlets to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN), comes as Israel has expanded air operations across southern and eastern Lebanon in recent days, including strikes Israel said targeted Hezbollah and Hamas infrastructure and weapons storage sites. On Tuesday, the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for several villages before launching strikes it described as aimed at militant “military infrastructure,” in what has been framed as a significant escalation under a fragile ceasefire.
The “Green Light”
In diplomatic practice, “green light” can range from explicit approval to more ambiguous signals: a private assurance of political cover, an understanding that Washington will not block an operation, or conditional backing linked to specific triggers (such as failure to meet a disarmament milestone). Regional reporting in recent days has frequently framed the alleged U.S. position in those terms, supportive in principle, but tied to tangible Lebanese steps.
Separately, reporting and analysis around Netanyahu’s recent interactions with U.S. President Donald Trump has intensified focus on Lebanon as one of several interconnected fronts, alongside Gaza, Syria, and Iran. The Guardian reported that Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump took place amid fears Israel could pursue a new offensives in Lebanon or even broaden confrontation with Iran, factors that would likely shape any U.S.-Israel understanding on escalation.
Still, no publicly available official U.S. statement surfaced in the immediate reporting explicitly endorsing a new Israeli operation in Lebanon. In the absence of that, the KAN-reported account should be treated as an attributed media report rather than confirmed policy.
Israeli Timing Considerations
According to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, the protests in Iran “are at this stage the central factor shaping decision-making in Jerusalem.”
“Were it not for the latest developments in Iran, there might have been little hesitation in executing the attack plan against Hezbollah, which has already been prepared and is considered operationally ready… The IDF has made clear that from its perspective, the preparations are complete, leaving the decision largely one of timing,” Yedioth Ahronoth added.
The newspaper explained that Israel is deciding whether to wait for further developments in Iran, Hezbollah’s strategic ally, or to exploit the current window of opportunity.
Protests in Iran have escalated sharply, with at least 35 protesters killed by the regime after demonstrations were initially sparked by economic grievances.
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