Senior White House figures privately told Israel that the US would support its decision to ramp up military pressure against Hezbollah, according to American and Israeli officials, Politico reports.

US officials expressed such support even as the Biden administration publicly urged the Israeli government in recent weeks to curtail its strikes.

Presidential adviser Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East, told top Israeli officials in recent weeks that the US agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s broad strategy to shift Israel’s military focus to the north against Hezbollah in order to convince the group to engage in diplomatic talks to end the conflict, the officials told Politico.

In mid-September calls and meetings, Israeli officials outlined broadly that their military was preparing to make the shift. They didn’t offer details. Hochstein and McGurk relayed to their Israeli counterparts that the timing was likely opportune for such a move, especially after Hezbollah had been significantly degraded in the months prior.

While Hezbollah had long said it would only engage with Israel if it reaches a cease-fire with Hamas militants it is battling in Gaza, U.S. assessments indicated at that point that Hamas wasn’t likely to agree to a cease-fire deal anytime soon. And that meant it could be a moment to focus more on Hezbollah alone.

But the decision to focus on Hezbollah sparked division within the US government, drawing opposition from people inside the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence community who believed Israel’s move against the Iran-backed militia could drag American forces into yet another Middle East conflict.

Israel on Tuesday launched a ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.