JERUSALEM/BEIRUT – The Israeli military is preparing to reduce its forces in southern Lebanon, with a partial withdrawal and the creation of a narrower "security zone" along the border, Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported Saturday.

The channel quoted Israeli security officials as saying that Israeli forces would withdraw to positions three to four kilometers from the border, down from the current zone of approximately 10 kilometers.

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The new deployment, which requires approval from Israel's political echelon, has been dubbed the "Gray Line" and will replace the current "Yellow Line," Kan said.

The new plan comes after the military said Thursday it had taken control of two underground Hezbollah routes in the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge on the eastern outskirts of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, it added.

Lebanese woman killed, 5 others injured in Israeli airstrikes

Meanwhile, a Lebanese woman was killed and five other people injured Saturday in Israeli airstrikes targeting towns in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA).

An Israeli airstrike targeted a residential building in the town of Mayfadoun, killing an 18-year-old woman and injuring five others, NNA reported.

The Israeli army also carried out more than 14 systematic detonations on Mansouri and Majdal Zoun in the Tyre district, it added.

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According to Lebanon's Emergency Public Health Operations Center, the cumulative death toll from the Israeli attacks between March 2 and Sept 5 had reached 4,358, with 12,359 others injured.

Also on Saturday, Hezbollah urged the Lebanese authorities to reconsider their negotiating approach with Israel, accusing the United States of backing the ongoing Israeli escalation and pressuring Lebanon to accept conditions detrimental to its sovereignty.

The group also rejected claims that direct negotiations with Israel and the framework agreement between the two sides had achieved significant results, saying the continued occupation, attacks, deaths, and destruction undermined such claims.

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It described the release of five Lebanese detainees on Thursday as "important." Still, Hezbollah said it could not justify overlooking the continued attacks and occupation or continuing a negotiating process that it considered incapable of protecting Lebanon and its people.

The developments came amid continued tensions along the Lebanese-Israeli border despite a framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel in late June and ongoing rounds of negotiations between the two sides on security arrangements along the border.