Netanyahu had said on Sunday that he ordered troops to move further into Lebanon in the battle against Hezbollah, despite a ceasefire announced more than six weeks ago.
In the latest advance, Israeli troops seized the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle and a strategic ridge in southern Lebanon, the military said earlier on Sunday, a day after one of the heaviest days of Hezbollah fire toward northern Israel since the April ceasefire, prompting school closures and restrictions.
The US official said that the US did not expect Israel to absorb ongoing attacks on its civilians from Hezbollah.
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Israeli attacks have displaced more than 1.2 million Lebanese since March 2.
Since then, Israeli strikes have pummelled Lebanon’s south and east and its capital, Beirut, killing more than 3,200 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Israel says 23 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period.
